The Student in Red
by Ronald Siordia
Summary: Konami Takahashi wasn't sure what to think when about his arrival at Duel Academy. However, he'll quickly discover that the academy will be far from boring. Follow as he deals with powerful rivals, the Shadow Riders, and malicious duel spirits - and that's just on his first year! Minor crossover. May get raised to 'M' depending on future violence or other content. I own nothing.
1. Chapter 1

**The Student in Red**

** Volume 1 - The Scarlet Newbie Saga**

**Chapter 1 - New Island Arrival**

"So, wait. I'm being put in Slifer just because you're out of yellow jackets?" Konami, a new student at Duel Academy, who was also labeled as a transfer due to his late entry, was annoyed at the information given to him by the large man sitting behind a desk in front of him.

Chancellor Sheppard, possibly the most important man in Duel Academy gave a shrug and a small chuckle at the young man. "It's nothing to worry about." He reassured with an almost jolly smile. "I have a feeling you'll like the Slifer dorm, give it some time. Besides, if you're so insistent on being in Ra, I'll inform you when our next shipment of uniforms come in."

Konami thought for a moment, gave a sigh, and then grabbed the box which held his new uniform. "It's fine." He said before putting on a small grin. "Besides, I've been told I look better in red, anyway." Then, almost as if to give example, he thumbed the red hat that sat upon his head.

The chancellor gave a small chuckle at this. "Good to hear. Now, then. I want you to find the nearest restroom and change into your uniform." He motioned towards the box in the young man's hands. "And then head off to class. You should still have some time before class actually starts." Giving a nod, the young man walked off. "Oh, and one more thing." He called out, getting the boy's attention. The chancellor gave off a smile. "Welcome to Duel Academy."

* * *

Konami looked at the schedule he was given. One odd thing he noticed was that there were only four teachers listed for him, despite the fact classes were eight hours a day and six days a week. A majority of the days listed also only had one name, the name of some doctor on it, and he had said doctor every day.

Looking at the list of classes, he didn't know whether to laugh or be appalled at just the odd classes that were listed. While the doctor guy was said to teach Duel Fundamentals, and possibly more advanced classes for upperclassmen, his other three listed classes were Physical Education, Alternative Science, and...Art? Shaking his head, he decided it was best to just find the classroom.

It took the young man a moment, but he managed to find his way. He fingered the collar of the light gray shirt he wore underneath the red jacket as he walked down the halls, feeling strangely nervous. 'It'll be fine.' He told himself, shaking his head. 'I go in, and worst thing that happens is the professor introduces me in front of everyone. Not so bad.'

As if on cue, he heard a high-pitched, mischievous voice speak to him. _"Or you're asked to introduce yourself, choke, end up saying something stupid, or nothing, and not only become a laughingstock, but also lose any chance of getting a girl here."_

This was a regular occurrence for him. For as long as he could remember, he has been able to hear the voices, and even see the spirits if they let him, of Duel Monsters. He speaks to the spirits of his decks almost daily.

Konami shook his head. 'Really, Mace? Is that what you think's gonna happen?' He let out a sigh. Mace – the Dark half of the Key Mace brothers – was always giving him grief.

"_It's a chance." _He said nonchalantly._ "Besides, even you have to admit, being in the lowest rank? Some people would be expecting that."_

"_Then Konami will just have to prove them wrong." _A second voice spoke up, this one confident and deep, yet still obviously feminine. _"He's more than capable of doing so. Now, if you two are done, our destination's ahead."_

Konami blinked out of his concentration, and saw himself closing in on a pair of important looking doors, a figure can be seen just inside through the small glass windows. 'Thanks, Dark Elf.' He thought before ending the conversation and entering the room.

What he saw in the classroom surprised him greatly. The room itself was large, like one you'd expect in some sort of university, with rows of seats leading down to a platform at the bottom, most likely where the professor would stand. Yes, the room was massive, impressive, and had surprisingly few students despite the time being close to 7:30 in the morning.

Yet Konami's surprise came not from the room, but the figure he saw before, whom was now in front of him, back facing the young man. Long blond hair, frilly blue coat, and almost ridiculously tall, this...person was unexpected by the young man.

The person gave a giggle. Konami heard more than just one spirit laughing inside his head because of the figure standing in front of him. "There's a new student coming in today." Despite the tone and accent, the person's voice sounded unmistakably male, erupting even more laughter from the spirits. "A Ra Yellow, and with impressive scores..." He sounded almost gleeful. "I might be able to get rid of _him _once and for all...!" This was followed by a bit of laughter from the odd man himself.

Not wanting to watch this odd man monologue about him anymore, Konami cleared his throat. "Um...excuse me?" He attempted at getting the man's attention.

He whipped around, looking at the boy in horror, before twisting his face into one of rage. "Just how long have you been standing there?!"

"_Long enough." _Konami heard the amused voice of Dark Elf.

After a short moment to calm down, he cleared his own throat and spoke. "My name is Vellian Crowler, but do refer to me as 'Dr. Crowler'. I'm also the top professor at this academy, and headmaster of the Obelisk dorm." He paused for a moment before speaking again, with no small hint of pride and a tad bit of amusement in his voice. "Feel free to brag to your friends about what a wonderful and high-ranked professor you have teaching you."

'I'll be sure to do that.' Konami deadpanned in his thoughts.

The doctor pulled out some papers from his jacket and studied them for a second. "You must be the transfer student, Konami Takahashi, yes?" The young man simply nodded, which he returned. "It says here that you're supposed to be in Ra...?" The way he trailed off, along with the pointed looked he gave, all but demanded an explanation.

"Out of jackets." He said simply. "The Chancellor _did _say he'd allow me to go to Ra when they get new uniforms shipped in." He added, seeing the less-than-mild glare he received from his first casual response.

"Ah, I see." He muttered, seemingly at some sort of relief. At that moment, two students barged in the room, both Slifers, one with hair looking oddly similar to a Kuriboh, the other being nearly half his height with spiked blue hair.

Immediately, the taller one began shouting something of winning a race. Konami gave a wince, wanting to cover his ears at the volume. As he did, he heard Dark Elf question if there were any blue uniforms left.

"Silence!" The odd doctor exclaimed at the two. "Quiet down or you'll be put in detention again!" Dr. Crowler seemed to either be a strict guy, or simply held a grudge. But, it immediately shut them up. The doctor then turned back to Konami, an almost crocodile-like grin on his face. "Mr. Takahashi, do not end up a slacker like those two." The grudge theory seemed most accurate.

More students began to slowly trickle into the room, so the professor pulled Konami aside, getting them both out of the students' way.

"Now, then." He continued from his earlier lecture. "The week goes like this. Monday through Saturday, you'll have class, eight AM sharp! Sundays are your days off, so be sure to use them wisely. Even though you're a bit behind due to your late arrival, you should be fine if you work hard." He nodded to himself. "It's almost time for class. I'll let you choose a seat from what's available. But, since we have some time before class begins..." He motioned to the rows of seats. Despite being maybe half-full, the room still looked rather large and empty. "You should interact with the other students. It's always easier to go through new things with friends, so try to make one or two!" And with that, he gave Konami a slight push, further urging him to do so.

Konami slowly walked down the rows, greeting the occasional student who greeted him. So far, everyone seemed friendly, but no one really caught his eye just yet. It didn't help that an occasional Obelisk would taunt him as he passed.

The young man considered on just making friends later. At least, he was, until he was roughly yanked by his arm, being force to sit in one of the seats.

"Who the hell...?" His voice stopped when he saw his 'attacker'. "Oh." Konami said in recognition. "You're the loud guy from before." Said guy looked embarrassed, giving off a small apology.

"Sorry about Jaden." The small boy say, popping up from behind the newly identified Jaden. "He can be a bit rude sometimes."

"Geez, I said I was sorry." The Slifer huffed. "Anyway, I'm Jaden Yuki, top duelist of the freshman class!" He pointed his thumb at the smaller boy. "And that's Syrus." He extended his hand for a handshake. "Nice to meet ya!"

Konami shook his hand, though with less enthusiasm than the other teen. "Konami. Konami Takahashi." He let out a smirk. "So. Top freshman duelist?" He questioned.

"Yep!" He said with a grin. "Doesn't matter how tough the opponent is, I plan to beat 'em! You're looking at the next King of Games!" Konami was somewhat impressed. This guy was confident, but not overly arrogant. It's as though he truly believes he can always win if he tried to.

"I'm pretty good too, you know." The red-capped teen spoke. "In fact, if not for the lack of uniforms, I'd be in Ra now." He decided a little bragging never hurt.

"Who cares about rank?" Jaden said dismissively. "All that matters is how ya play. Being a Slifer just means I have to prove myself more."

"_Wow." _Dark Elf spoke appearing next to him for a moment. _"Despite how idiotic he seems, that was strangely profound." _She let out a giggle._ "It'll probably be the smartest thing we hear from him, though."_

'This guy sure is something else.' Konami couldn't help but agree. He noticed Jaden glancing behind him. 'Can he see her?' Before he could ask, the voice of Dr. Crowler seemed to echo through the room.

"Alright, students!" He exclaimed, making his way to the bottom platform. "Sit down, it's time for class."

* * *

Konami took notes as the eccentric professor seemed to prattle on with the lesson. Despite the class just returning from lunch, he continued as though he had never stopped. His next sentence, however, gave Konami a bad feeling.

"There are some lessons which can only be learned through practical means." The moment Dr. Crowler said this, Konami knew what he meant. A duel. And chances were, as the new guy, he'd be the one dueling.

He hated how right he was. He fought the urge to groan as he stepped onto the duel field mere moments later, the rest of the class had their eyes locked onto him as Crowler chose a suitable opponent.

"_You can't be scared."_ Dark Elf deadpanned.

'No, but it _is _nerve-wracking, dueling in front of everyone.' Konami admitted. 'Any and all mistakes aren't going to be overlooked. Doesn't help that I only got one deck with me.'

"_Then don't make mistakes." _She responded, humor in her voice.

'Gee, thanks.' He sarcastically thought. That's when he noticed the opponent that was chosen for him. A Ra-Yellow student. He had wild, light-brown hair that seemed to spike randomly. Aside from that, he seemed rather plain.

"Even though it's a demonstration duel, I'm still looking forward to playing against you." The Ra said politely before grinning. "I won't hold back because you're new."

"I've missed what? A week?" Konami scoffed, though it was probably more than just a week he had missed. He let out a grin too. "I won't hold back either." Dr. Crowler spoke up, preventing further banter between the two.

"As I have said before, there are some lessons that can only be learned practically." The professor announced to the crowd of students. "So, as our two duelists go at it, keep an eye on the varies types of cards used, and see if you can learn anything." Konami felt that last remark was directed to someone specific.

Up in the crowd, the transfer Slifer seemed to have gotten quite a bit attention.

"Who's the new guy?"

"Must be special if he's being used as an example on his first day."

"He's just a Slifer Slacker, don't worry about him."

"They put him against a Ra, though."

Several conversations similar were happening all around due to this abnormality. Jaden and Syrus were looking at him with varying degrees of interest.

"Can't wait to see what the new guy can do!" Jaden said, excitement laced in his voice. Syrus would have responded, but was interrupted.

"You know him?" Alexis Rhodes, Queen of Obelisk, asked the two Slifers as she approached them.

"Not really." Jaden admitted. "We just met a few hours ago. But, I'm always psyched to have a new duel partner!" Syrus and Alexis simply sighed before the three returned their gazes to the duel field, various thoughts going through their heads.

"Konami Takahashi! Pipin Nekoyama! Are you ready?" Dr. Crowler called out, drawing all attention to the duel. Without speaking, both duelists activated their duel disks. "Begin!"

As both duelists stared each other down, their life points flashed 4000, indicating the start.

**DUEL**

**Pipin Nekoyama – 4000**

**Konami Takahashi – 4000**

"I'll let you go first." Pipin said, a hint of a smirk in his voice.

"If you say so." Konami shrugged, deciding not to argue. "Draw!"

**TURN ONE – KONAMI TAKAHASHI**

Raising a brow at the cards in his hand, he fought back a smirk. "I place one monster face down, as well as three cards face down before ending my turn."

"Not bad." Pipin complimented. "But it takes more than simple defense to win a duel. Now it's my turn, draw!"

**TURN TWO – PIPIN NEKOYAMA**

"Alright!" He smirked. "First off, I summon Monk Fighter, in Attack Mode!" As he placed the card down, a human-looking man with silver hair and an orange martial arts uniform appeared on the field.

Monk Fighter – Earth/Rock – LV3 – 1300/1000

"Next I equip him with a spell! Legendary Black Belt!" Placing the card down, a black belt wrapped around Monk Fighter's waist.

"No power increase?" Konami asked, raising a brow in mild confusion.

"Don't need it. Should I destroy a monster of yours, you take damage equal to it's defense. Now, I think I'll place one more card face down, before attacking your face down monster!" Monk Fighter leaped toward the face down monster. Konami let out a smirk.

"There goes my trap card! Magic Cylinder!" Two cylinders appeared on the field, Monk Fighter charged in one, exiting the other and attacking Pipin. The Ra simply grunted in annoyance.

**Pipin Nekoyama – 2700**

**Konami Takahashi – 4000**

"Not bad, not bad." Pipin said. "I'm getting rather excited." He admitted. "I end my turn."

"If you insist." Konami said. "My draw!"

**TURN THREE – KONAMI TAKAHASHI**

"Not so fast!" Pipin spoke out. "I activate a trap of my own, Rock Bombardment!" The Ra duelist then picked up and searched his deck. "I send one Rock-type monster to the graveyard," He plucked a card and did just that. "and deal 500 points of damage to you!"

Konami winced as a virtual boulder was launched at him, but more out of annoyance than anything else.

**Pipin Nekoyama – 2700**

**Konami Takahashi – 3500**

"If you'll let me have my turn now." Konami grumbled. He took a look at the cards in his hand and field before smirking. "You know." He called out to the Ra. "It's been fun, but I'll have to end this now."

This caused more commotion from the students watching.

"It's only the third turn, how can he win?"

"He's bluffing!"

"He does seem to know what he's doing. Plus there's those two face downs."

The Slifer duo and their female Obelisk companion were having mixed thoughts.

"He's being a little overconfident, isn't he?" Syrus asked.

"I don't know." Alexis responded. "I've seen people win on their first turn. It's rare, but it is possible."

"But that's so boring!" Jaden pouted. "The best duels are long and drawn out! The adrenaline rush that comes with not knowing if you win or lose...!" Jaden was visibly shaking with excitement as he trailed off. "Still though," He said, calming down a notch. "He can pull it off. I can tell that he's an awesome duelist."

Resisting the urge to sneeze back on the duel field, Konami started his turn. "First!" He exclaimed. "I flip summon, Cobra Jar!" Turning to face up Attack Mode was a small jar. A long, green snake slowly began to slither out.

Cobra Jar – Earth/Reptile – LV2 – 600/300

"And when he's Flip Summoned, I can Special Summon a Poisonous Snake Token onto the field!" A second green snake slithered completely out of the jar, coiling up next to Cobra Jar.

Poisonous Snake Token – Earth/Reptile – LV3 – 1200/1200

"Neither of these are going to be on the field for long, though. I sacrifice both my Cobra Jar and my Snake Token!" Both monsters vanished into particles of energy, energy that began to grow into the shape of a giant creature. "Though your deeds were wicked, your intentions were pure, though redemption is lost, salvation is nigh! Tribute Summon! Gogiga Gagagigo!"

A large red and golden reptile was summoned onto the field. The reptilian titan let out a loud roar, surprising several students, even scaring some of them.

Gogiga Gagagigo – Water/Reptile – LV8 – 2950/2800

"Wh-where'd you get a _normal _monster with such high attack?!" Pipen asked, stunned by the creature.

"Got it in a card pack." He shrugged. It was the honest truth. "I'm not done yet, though. I activate my other two trap cards, both being the Trap Monster, Embodiment of Apophis!" Two demonic-looking snake warriors appeared onto the field.

Embodiment of Apophis – Earth/Reptile – LV4 – 1600/1800

"Now, Embodiments of Apophis, attack him and his Monk Fighter!" One of the Trap Monster slashed at the Rock-type. The hit was successful, Monk Fighter was destroyed. However, no Life Points were lost.

"Care to explain?" Konami asked, the second Embodiment attacking directly.

**Pipin Nekoyama – 1100**

**Konami Takahashi – 3500**

"Any damage done to me in a battle with Monk Fighter is reduced to zero." He said with a pained grunt.

"I see." Konami said with a nod. "Alright, then. Last attack. Gogiga Gagagigo! Use your Power of the Damned!" The reptilian titan gave a nod, before a black aura covered his fist. Throwing his punch, the gigantic holographic arm punched right through Pipin, ending the duel.

**Pipin Nekoyama – 0**

**Konami Takahashi – 3500**

**DUEL END**

The entire crowd was speechless. How could they not? This new student – this new _Slifer _pretty much had the duel won from the first turn.

Konami walked over to his opponent. The Ra looked stunned, but also impressed.

"You're good." Pipin said simply, extending his hand.

"Thanks." Konami responded just as simply, accepting the handshake.

"There you have it!" Dr. Crowler spoke out. "A splendid duel between two splendid duelists. I hope you have all learned a thing or two from this. Now, it's back to class!" He ended on a cheerful note.

As the students followed their professor to the classroom, Jaden, Syrus, and Alexis found the transfer Slifer.

"Those were some sweet moves, Konami!" Jaden praised.

"Thanks." The capped student said with a shrug. "I'm not exactly happy, being put in the spotlight so quickly."

"It _is_ odd." The only girl in the group spoke up. "Crowler usually hates Slifers – with a passion." Konami simply shook his head.

"Probably because I was meant to be wearing yellow." He explained for the girl. "They ran out of uniforms, and simply demoted me."

"I see." She said simply. "I'm Alexis, by the way."

"Konami." He responded. "Of course, with my name being broadcasted, you probably knew that." He gave a sigh as the other three let out a laugh. The students shortly after reentered the classroom. Heading back to his seat, Konami noticed that one of the Obelisk students seemed to be glaring at him.

* * *

The rest of class was rather boring, most evident by how his new Slifer friends were both asleep next to him. Today's main lesson, an in-depth explanation of various types of usable cards, was rather easy for the newest Slifer. In addition to receiving extra credit from his duel (Pipin got a similar reward, he noticed), he managed to finish up his homework before class even ended. When class _did_ end, only Syrus of the sleeping duo seemed to have woken, and looked desperate to wake up Jaden.

"C'mon! Wake up!" The boy all but shouted. This was met with some mumbled slurring, vaguely sounding like making a move in a duel. Konami's ears perked up when Jaden mentioned the words 'Thunder Giant' in his mumbling.

'I've heard of those cards.' Konami thought to himself. 'Elemental Heroes. Easy to use, but difficult to master. This guy's more interesting than I thought if that's his strategy.' He was interrupted from his musings by Dr. Crowler, walking up to where he sat.

"Hello again, Konami." The professor spoke. After he received a nod from the transfer Slifer, he 'casually' slammed his fist on the desk, effectively waking up the sleeping Slifer.

"Monster Reborn!" Jaden shot up like a bullet, shouting whatever move he was about to make in his dream.

"Pay attention, you two, and make yourselves useful for once." The blond doctor spoke harshly. Syrus seemed to be shaking behind Jaden, while the latter himself was seemed to still be waking up. "Konami here is in your dorm for the time being. Can I trust that you'll-"

"Show him around? You got it!" Jaden interrupted excitedly, much to the doctor's annoyance. Grabbing the wrist of the red-capped Slifer, he proceeded to drag him out of the room, shouting at Syrus to 'hurry up' behind him.

After Syrus managed to catch up, the three of them made the surprisingly short trip back to the Slifer Red dorm. When they approached it, Konami simply stared at it, blank expression on his face.

"This. This is our dorm?" He asked, disbelief in his voice. "This is where we'll live for the next three years, assuming none of us rank up?"

"Yup!" Jaden responded cheerfully, completely ignoring the transfer's attitude. "You're gonna love it here. The people are great, the food is delicious, and the whole place is just awesome!"

"What he means." Syrus spoke up, sounding slightly exasperated. "Is that it's not bad. You get used to it, sooner or later."

"_Great, now you can spend your days here in a toolshed." _The voice of Mace piped up sarcastically.

"_It's only until he advances up in rank." _Dark Elf reminded.

"_Knowing him, he's not gonna bother with the dorm upgrade until either his bed or his ceiling break." _Mace sighed.

"Anyway." Jaden spoke, forcing Konami back to reality. "Now that we're here, let's duel!" He even had his duel disk out and ready, just how duel-ready he was momentarily stunned Konami.

"Now, now, Jaden." A calm voice approached, lightly scolding the teen. Stepping out from one of the dorm rooms was a man with long black hair, longs bangs around his face, wearing a simple outfit, consisting of a shirt, tie, and black pants. On his face were a pair of glasses and a gentle smile.

"Konami just got here." He continued. "I'll lead him up to his room, you'll have plenty of time to duel tomorrow." He put on a grin. "Not everyone can duel all day every day, Jaden.

Jaden pouted for a moment. "Alright." He forfeited. He then turned to Konami, once again looking excited. "But don't forget, you owe me a duel, New Guy, and soon!" With that, the other two students left to their own room, the man turned to Konami.

"My name is Professor Lyman Banner, headmaster of Slifer as well as the one teaching alchemy to the students." After introducing himself, he motioned Konami to follow as he began to walk to the dorm. Heading up the stairs, the two stopped at a certain door, oddly enough, just next to the one Konami noticed Jaden entering.

"204: Konami Takahashi." The red-capped Slifer read the nameplate beside the door. Underneath his name were two empty spaces. "I'm living alone?" He questioned.

"For the moment." The professor spoke before grinning. "This is the most common dorm for students, so you might have roommates in no time!" He gave a small nod. "I'll leave you to it. Unless you don't plan on switching when the uniforms arrive, I'd suggest not unpacking too much." With a wave, the man left.

'Guess he heard about that.' Konami thought to himself. The newest Slifer immediately opened the door after that thought, the hinges giving small squeaks in the process. The room itself was simple. Somewhat spacious, three-man bunkbed, a bookshelf, a small table, a desk with a computer, and a television. Konami pulled his deck out of his pocket, placing it on the desk.

"You guys have been pretty chatty today." He spoke with humor in his voice. After speaking, several translucent figures began to fade into his room.

"_Well, with today being such an interesting day, could you blame us?" _Dark Elf was the first one to speak. Dark Elf was a tanned woman with indigo hair, an aqua dress with a gold lining at the top, with a similar gold lining as a headpiece.

Two small fairy-like creatures, both dressed as jesters popped up on his shoulders. They were Key and Mace, individually named due to their similarly named cards. Key, also known as Key Mace #1 was dressed in yellow and blue, while holding a key roughly as big as he was. Mace, Key Mace #2 donned the red and pink version of their outfit while holding a scepter.

"_That duel earlier was quite impressive. Good job." _Key added on to Dark Elf's comment.

"_Not to mention that t__here's also been quite a few weirdos in the last few hours." _Mace piped up as well. _"The clown, loudmouth, and munchkin, just to name the ones we met."_

"_Not the other professor?" _Key asked in his usual quiet voice.

"_Nah, he seems fine. Plus, now I'm extra curious about his alchemy class!" _Mace had an extremely excited look on his face.

"Last time I let you watch anime with me." Konami sighed, adjusting his hat slightly. Giving a small yawn, he glanced at his two bags and a suitcase on the bottom bunk of the bed. Shrugging, he moved them onto the desk chair before laying down onto the bed.

"_You're not unpacking?" _A voice asked in confusion. He turned and saw the spirit of the card White Dolphin, wearing a befuddled expression.

"All I packed were my decks, some clothes, and basic things, like my toothbrush." He said before shrugging. "I can unpack it when I need it."

"_Going to bed so soon?" _The Fish-type monster questioned.

"I'm tired." He said simply. "Been a long trip getting here, and it took everything I had not to doze off next to the others."

"_Not to mention he knows that I'll give him hell for sleeping in class." _Dark Elf piped up with a smirk. Seemingly satisfied, the dolphin nodded before fading back out, the majority of the others following his example.

"Alright, then." Konami said before closing his eyes and relaxing onto the bed. "Wake me up when something happens." After that, he covered his face with his hat.

"_Sleep well." _Konami almost immediately fell asleep after those words left Dark Elf's lips.

* * *

Konami woke up with a start some time later, accidentally hitting his head on the bed above him. What woke him up was a loud knocking on his door, immediately followed by a familiar voice yelling his name. Grumbling and ignoring the giggles of his female spirits, he answered the door.

"Jaden." The red-capped Slifer greeted simply, only to once again be grabbed by the wrist and dragged away by the other teen.

"Glad you're awake!" He said in his usual chipper tone. "Someone forgot to tell ya, dinner's at seven, plus it's first come first serve!" Glancing at his watch, he noticed it was just five minutes before the scheduled time.

"Thanks." Konami said, a bit embarrassed at his previous annoyance with him.

"It's fine. No one should miss dinner, I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy!" As he finished his sentence, they entered the Slifer dorm cafeteria. Jaden looked down at the long line of students, but cheered right back up before getting the two of them in line, even letting Konami go in front of him.

Konami's meal was about as lackluster as he'd expect, from what he's seen of the dorm. A plate with fish and rice, and a second plate of... "Is this fried shrimp?" He asked Jaden. He was sitting next to Jaden at the somewhat small dining table they were at, while in front of them was Syrus and some larger guy Konami hadn't met yet.

"You bet!" Jaden said as he swallowed a bite of food. "You don't know how lucky you are! First day being fried shrimp day!" He glanced around, noticing most of the other students pretty much ignoring everything else for the shrimp. Even Syrus in front of him, who seemed to be saving it for last, was almost drooling as his eyes never left that plate.

"Fried shrimp day is once a month." The larger student spoke up. "And, to be honest, it's without a doubt the best food in the dorm." His eyes widened before chuckling for a moment. "Sorry." He spoke again, reaching towards Konami with a large hand. "I'm Chumley, Chumley Huffington."

This time it was Konami's turn to go wide eyed. "You mean, from _the _Huffingtons?" He asked, shaking his hand.

"You've heard of him?" Syrus asked, for once looking off his plate.

"Well, my father _was _a champion duelist." Chumely said with a shrug. This got Jaden's attention, but Konami spoke out before he could respond.

"No, no, no." Konami shook his head. "That's not why I know you guys. We simply buy your products all the time back home." He let out a grin. "The hot sauce you guys make is just awesome. Plus, my uncle has a soft spot for your sake."

Syrus shuddered, obviously not a fan of either of those things. Turning back to his plate he gasped. "Where's my shrimp?!"

As Syrus panicked, Konami immediately turned to the most energetic of the group. "Found 'em." He deadpanned as he saw a piece still half in Jaden's mouth. With a sigh, before the small Slifer could freak out more, Konami silently pushed his own shrimp in front of him. Not wanting to be in such a high-strung situation about food, Konami simply began to eat his previously untouched food.

He heard a surprisingly teary 'thank you' from the smallest of the group before conversation began to die out in preference of eating their meals.

Well, for the most part.

Jaden, obviously not caring for the silence kept questioning the newest Slifer, both trying to start conversation as well as get to know him better.

"So." He asked in between mouthfuls. "You use Reptile cards?"

"Sort of." Konami responded. "Admittedly, it's one of my preferred strategies."

"Preferred strategies?" Syrus echoed.

"I've got a few tricks up my sleeve." Konami said with a smirk, not opting to say any more.

"Aw, now I'm even more excited!" Jaden pouted. But, deciding to wait until they actually duel to see more of his deck, he decided to ask something else. "I've been wondering. Where'd you get that hat?"

"Duel Academy merchandise is fairly common." He said a tad slowly. "I found it in a nearby shop a few weeks before I left. Before this, I wore a black one."

"Do you always wear hats?" Chumley piped up. "I thought this place was like other schools when it came to dress code." Konami responded with a deadpan expression.

"I think I'll be fine." He bit back a sarcastic response that he had about a certain professor. "And yes, I have. In addition to shade and style, they also make me distinguishable."

"You need a hat to get noticed?" The larger Slifer asked, both humor and surprise in his voice.

"I have a surprisingly ordinary face." As if to prove it, he lifted up the brim, his green eyes looking at the other three before lowering back down. He shrugged after a moment. "Anyway." He said with a pause. "I haven't been here for the beginning of the year. Mind filling me in on what happened?" Jaden was all too happy to inform him after dinner.

* * *

Surprisingly to Konami, he didn't get much of an introduction from Banner during dinner. A simple 'welcome our new student' and 'I hope you get along well' after dinner was just about it. He might have been offended, but decided it wasn't really worth it, plus Dark Elf was more than annoyed for him.

As it turned out, despite Jaden's eagerness to tell the story, not much happened. The biggest thing to happen was that Jaden made a rival out of an Obelisk blue. Then again, it's only been a few weeks since the year began, so it made some sense.

"Hey Konami?" Jaden piped up as they sat in the trio's room, hanging out after dinner. Syrus and Chumley seemed to be working on their decks, leaving the other two alone for the moment. "Can you see duel spirits?" He asked, curiosity on his face. "Like, my Winged Kuriboh?" As if to prove a point, the monster mentioned appeared beside the teen, floating around him as he studied Konami.

"Yeah. So I'm guessing you _did _see her earlier?" He questioned as Dark Elf appeared beside him.

"Yup." He said with a grin. "Can you see others?"

"Aside from my own spirits and your Winged Kuriboh, no." The transfer sighed.

"How many do you have?" Jaden asked, a tad bit of surprise on his face.

"A few." He said after a moment of counting. "It really depends on the spirit. If they like me, or find me worthy, or something, they talk to me. I've probably met more than most people, though." He admitted. "I have quite a few cards."

"I can't wait to duel you tomorrow!" Jaden exclaimed, excited. "The duel earlier got me excited, I wanna see more of how you play."

"I'll try to give you a show, Jay." The transfer said with a chuckle. "Though I'm worried. I doubt being so duel obsessed is healthy."

"That's Jaden for ya." Syrus piped up, he and Chumely deciding to join the conversation. "Always ready to duel. No matter who or where."

"I can't be the next King of Games if I'm picky!" Jaden said with a smirk.

Konami heard Dark Elf sigh as he let out another chuckle. "Well, it's been fun, but I'm going to bed."

"It's only 9:30." Chumley spoke with a raised brow.

"I need sleep." Was all he said before getting up. He yawned, giving the guys a tired, "night." before heading back to his room.

He was actually pretty excited for tomorrow. Despite how childish the thought was, he was looking forward to whatever adventures he'd have on the island, and, for the first time in awhile, fell asleep with a smile on his face.

* * *

In the next chapter:

"Syrus!" The red-capped Slifer sighed in exasperation. "When I said you'd find a girlfriend, I didn't expect you to search so proactively!" Despite being tied up, Syrus began struggling, looking as though he wanted to kill Konami. He struggled even more so as he saw the amused smirk on his face.

* * *

Omake #1 - A Tour of Ra:

Konami was actually quite surprised at how cool Pipin was, despite being a being only a background character. The two of them were discussing simple things - what home was like, favorite cards, etc. He noticed, however, how Pipin seemed to perk up when Konami mentioned that he was only in Slifer due to some wardrobe mishap.

"Wait, so you're a Yellow?" The Ra questioned. He grinned when Konami nodded in affirmative. "Let's go then!" He proclaimed, grabbing Konami's wrist before proceeding to drag him away.

"And we're going where?" The red-capped Slifer asked, annoyed at the constant dragging he'd been subjugated to.

"Well, you'll be with us, right?" The teen responded. Before Konami could answer, he continued. "Well, of you're gonna be a Ra, you'll need to know the layabou-" He paused.

"What's...oh." What Konami saw made sense to the sudden halt in his would-be tour guide. For some reason there were dozens of Obelisk Blue female students hanging about the Ra dorm, all of them looking on edge, as if searching for something.

"Damn." Pipin muttered darkly to the Slifer. "They're here for me again."

"Again?!"

"I'd love to show you around..." He glanced at the horde of girls, somehow none having seen them yet. "I need to take these girls on my own."

Konami didn't know whether to cry with jealousy, or simply hate his yellow friend.

"You!" He called out to a passing Ra student. "Come here for a sec." As he approached, he looked nothing special to the red-capped Slifer. Roughly average height and straight, black hair.

"You required something?" The student asked, surprisingly with a British accent of all things.

"Yeah, can you-" He was interrupted by the squealing of over 20 girls. "ShowmyfriendaroundRaokaybye!" After those fast-spoken words, he proceeded to run off, the horde chasing after him.

"Well." The Ra student spoke up after a moment of silence. "That was entirely unexpected." He shook his head before extending his hand with a smile. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance. My name is-" He stopped as he heard the soft sound of footsteps, and watched as Konami simply left.

"Why does that always happen?" The Ra muttered with a frown. "Oh well, I needed to work out that new theory anyway."

* * *

_First chapter, done. Hoping I did well, for I'm planning on making this one of my main stories. I'm hoping it's decent, but, if not, I'm not too concerned, I know it'll get better later on. I'll also try to be a couple chapters ahead in my writing. Should I get writer's block, I'll hopefully still have a chapter or two to publish.  
_

_This will be more than just a novelization of the Tag Force Series, and more than just a 'Konami in the anime' fic. I have several unique plot points in mind already, now all I have to do is write up to those points.  
_

_One thing I'd like to point out is that what I'm trying to do is **not **make Konami as omnipotent and overpowered as he's sometimes portrayed. He'll be strong, he'll have skill, and he'll know more about card effects than most (at least more than the less-than-scholarly Jaden and Syrus), but he's **not **invincible. His easy win from earlier was from a lucky starting hand and some decent skill and strategy, not all wins will be that easy or quick, and he won't always win._

_This will be a minor crossover. It won't be anything major. In fact, it'll barely even be mentioned for awhile. Should everything work as planned though...expect one of the story's plotlines to involve a crossover.  
_

_Hope you enjoyed, next chapter should be up soon._


	2. Chapter 2

** The Student in Red  
**

**Volume 1 - The Scarlet Newbie Saga**

**Chapter 2 – A Late Night Duel**

The time currently was 6:30 in the morning. This was the average time students woke up to get ready for classes. The main building wasn't too far a walk if you left early, and over an hour was plenty of time to take care of everything you needed.

Of course, there were a few early or late risers, and currently, Konami (to his misfortune) was in the former category.

Konami was not one to intentionally wake up early. In fact, if anything, he'd sleep until noon just because he could. In addition, he also slept whenever he felt even a tad tired, or was simply bored, enough so that people question whether or not he has narcolepsy.

But that's neither here nor there.

The reason, or reasons, of Konami's early rise were floating around him as he walked towards the main building. His duel spirits, at some point, made it their job to wake him up on time, if not early. Sometimes the teen wonders if they simply do it to annoy him.

Key would simply poke him until the teen woke, and Mace would either shout in his ear or shake him. Dark Elf would whisper _something_, he never figured out what, that resulted in him taking cold showers after waking. As for White Dolphin...the red-capped Slifer suppressed a shiver. He did _something_ that would guarantee him nightmares each time he woke him up.

He shook his head as a yawn escaped his throat. He's too tired to really care about what they've done.

However, this momentary distraction was all it took for something to happen.

Something collided into his side, nearly toppling him over. From the slight shriek he heard, whatever hit him _did _fall.

Regaining his balance, he saw a brunette Obelisk Blue girl on the ground where she fell.

"Watch where you're going, Slifer Red!" The girl exclaimed, sounding a tad dizzy. Holding back a sigh, the red-capped Slifer offered her his hand. "And just what do you think you're doing?" She glared at him.

"Being nice." He bluntly responded, still to tired to really put up with anything. "Offering you a hand up." He elaborated. The girl eyed his hand suspiciously, before hesitantly grabbing it. Of course, this led to her being promptly _yanked _up by the male.

"What the hell?!" She yelled, glaring even harder at the other teen. "If you're going to help someone up, at least be gentle with it!"

"Sorry." Konami muttered. "I'm really not a morning person." He spoke, yawning halfway through his sentence.

"Whatever." The girl rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. "Well, see ya." She said, leaving with a sigh. "Don't be late for class, Slifer Red."

With a shrug, Konami followed her, wanting to just get this day over with. He wanted to sigh. It was to early for this. Getting ran into by rude girls was not the way he wanted to start his day.

* * *

Apparently the lessons at this school are more or less crammed into one's head as much as physically possible. At least, that's what Konami felt like as Dr. Crowler had Alexis explain how many types of cards there were as a review from yesterday's lesson.

Being basic knowledge, she had no trouble with her explanation.

"In Duel Monsters, there are three types of cards, Monster, Spell, and Trap." She explained. "Monsters can be put into fours categories: Normal, Effect, Fusion, and Ritual. Spells can be put into six: Normal, Quick-play, Equip, Ritual, Field, and Continuous Spells. Traps can be put into three: Normal, Counter, and Continuous."

"Perfect! Good job, Ms. Rhodes!" The flamboyant doctor praised the girl. "But of course, it's to be expected from an Obelisk Blue, such as yourself."

"It's simply the basics." Was her response. Konami had to hold back yet another sigh. Konami could already see what was happening. Have an Obelisk, or even a Ra answer a roughly easy question, and the give a more difficult one to a Red, before laughing in their face if they got it wrong.

Konami had a feeling he'd be proven right, as Dr. Crowler then called onto Syrus.

"Mr. Truesdale." He called, less jovial than a moment ago.

"Yes?" The small boy jumped, obviously rather nervous.

"If you could, please explain to the class what Field Spells are." This actually surprised the red-capped Slifer. The question was rather easy. Not what's-the-effect-of-Pot-of-Greed easy, but definitely simpler than what he expected.

"Well..." Syrus began. "What a Field Spell...it can...Field Spells are..." Ah. So he has stage fright. Either the odd doctor knew this, or it was a very coincidental happenstance.

The jeers that began to erupt from the rest of the class didn't help, either.

'Yes, tell him how stupid he is, _that'll _help him, kids'. The Slifer thought sarcastically.

_"It does make you wonder how he can duel with stage fright." _Dark Elf commented.

"You got this, Sy!" Jaden spoke to the stuttering Slifer in an attempt to help him out. "Just relax, you can do it!"

Whether or not he could, Crowler decided that time was up.

"Sit down." The doctor spoke with a sigh. "I should have known you couldn't have answered it." He continued. "Congratulations, you have somehow lowered my expectations." Despite the disappointment in his tone, Konami noticed a very faint smirk on his face.

Syrus sat back down, mumbling something in a depressed tone.

_"You're gonna say something, aren't you?" _Dark Elf inquired.

'Yup.' With a small sigh, Konami stood up, raising his hand.

"Do you have an answer, Mr. Takahashi?" The odd doctor asked, a bit surprised.

"Yes, sir." Konami spoke. "Field Spells are - as the name implies - Spells that affect the entire field. Certain ones like Umi affect only specific types, or give boosts to certain monsters. Others, like Fusion Gate, or Mausoleum of the Emperor have certain special effects to alter the game play. There's no specific answer to the question, though, because the effect various from card to card."

At first, his explanation cause a minor clamor amongst the class. It seems the higher ranked students were too busy laughing at Syrus to even consider that a Slifer could answer the question correctly. Unfortunately, it didn't last long, due to the chuckling from Dr. Crowler.

"Good to hear, good to hear." Crowler praised. "I'm glad you know, but I knew that this was an easy question for you. After all, you're technically a Ra student, so you're a league above those Slifers." This caused Konami to raise a brow. If he was technically Ra, shouldn't he be living in their dorm? Before he could argue, however, Jaden piped up.

"Ya know, Teach, you shouldn't pick on us Slifers." Jaden spoke in a cheery tone. "I mean, I'm a Slifer, and I beat you."

The doctor glared angrily at the Slifer. Apparently, this was a rather large wound for him.

However, for Konami, this was an interesting piece of information. Maybe the teen was right, that rank really doesn't matter. If he could beat the self-proclaimed top professor, than Jaden was definitely a good duelist.

The red-capped Slifer let out a smirk. Jaden's been wanting to duel, so maybe he should give him one.

* * *

As Konami had hoped, the rest day was going by somewhat smoothly. Aside from Dr. Crowler's grudge against Jaden, that is. Unfortunately for any Slifers in that class, Jaden's previous outburst gave them all extra homework. Konami himself would probably complain more if his homework didn't consist of duel puzzles, something he actually enjoyed.

What he _could _complain about though, was his current predicament – he forgot where the gym was, and Physical Education was his next class.

Thankfully, it wasn't too hard to find the gym. Just go where the people in gym uniforms were going.

"_I told you to follow the crowd from the beginning, Konami." _Dark Elf reprimanded the red-capped Slifer.

'Aren't you normally telling me to stand out and be great?' He questioned the spirit, holding back a smirk.

"_Don't be a smart-ass." _The spirit huffed in annoyance.

'It'll be fine.' Konami reassured. 'So I'm a few minutes late. The worst I'll get is a few extra pushups.'

"_So you're completely prepared?" _This time it was White Dolphin who spoke. _"Have all your things, know what you're doing?"_

"_Do you even have your gym uniform?!" _Mace joined it. The questioning of his spirits gave him pause. He sighed and shook his head, before asking the coach – Obelisk Blue headmistress Fonda Fontaine, he found out – what he was supposed to do.

Much to his relief, he was still able to use his 'new student' excuse to get away with a few things, so he wasn't in trouble at least. All he was asked to do was hurry up, as well as yank out Syrus, who was still in the locker room for some reason.

As he went inside the locker room, he found out why.

"I've liked you ever since I first met you." Konami almost did a complete 180, preferring to do sit-ups in his jeans than see who he was confessing to in the _boys locker room. _Of course, Dark Elf forced him to keep moving. "I'll be waiting for you tonight behind the Obelisk Blue girls dorm...Alexis Rhodes?!"

Shaking his head, Konami finally walked in there and saw Syrus with a letter.

"So..." Konami spoke up, making the small boy jump yet again. "Is that really from Alexis?" At first, Syrus began sputtering, trying to come up with an excuse, before sighing and handing it over to the red-capped Slifer.

"I'm so excited!" Syrus perked right up. "A _girl _is in love with _me_!" As he began ranting, Konami read the letter. Several red flags popped up as he did.

First, Alexis of all people supposedly wrote something like this. Despite their one conversation, he felt as though she didn't act like this. Second, Syrus found this in the _boy's locker room_, and Konami doubted she'd risk sneaking in for _any _reason. Also, Konami remembered reading about a rule: students are not aloud to be out and about after a certain time – she could've easily asked for a date Sunday afternoon. Not to mention Jaden's name was on the paper, not Syrus's. And it wrote 'Signed Alexis Roads' on the bottom.

'Yeah, this is totally fake.' Konami decided.

"Are you sure this is for you, Syrus?" Konami questioned, sweat dropping.

"Of course!" Syrus smirked. "After all, who wouldn't want _this_?!" He gestured to himself. "Oh no!" He jumped once more. "Class is starting, we need to get ready!" And with that, he ran out of the room. Or would have, had Konami not put a hand on his shoulder.

"Syrus." Konami spoke seriously, lifting up his hat. "I just want you to know, that despite whatever may happen, there's still hope. Even if this goes badly, you can still find a girlfriend. Alright?"

Syrus looked at him like he had grown a second head. "Sure..." He said. "Anyway, we need to get going!" Finally, he rushed out of the room.

"_He's even stupider than Jaden, isn't he?" _Dark Elf questioned, appearing beside Konami.

"More like more naive." Konami responded.

"_We're going to have to help him out, aren't we?"_

"I'd prefer _not _losing friends within the first week."

"_Fine, but let's get Jaden first. He might be useful in this." _Konami responded with an affirmative nod. Thankfully, finding Jaden wasn't too difficult.

"We need to talk." Konami told his fellow Slifer.

* * *

A few hours later, they set off. After managing to talking with Jaden about his plan, the two of them walked behind Syrus as he went to the girls' dorm. The plan was something like this: keep close enough to keep an eye on the shorter Slifer, but far enough to stay out of sight (and hopefully out of trouble). Jaden would've rather walked with Syrus, but Konami was determined to see just what would happen. Besides, Syrus's presence alone should throw off whatever ideas were made for that night.

In addition, if they were _just _the right distance away and something happened, they could run in, grab the boy, run out, and lay low for a few days until everything blows over.

Even with that knowledge in mind, neither of the two Slifers expected to hear voices of several females shout "PERVERT!"

"What do you think that was?" Jaden questioned, concerned.

"Syrus may die tonight." Konami spoke solemnly. "But he'll die a lucky man." Jaden didn't know whether to freak out, or be confused, so they both settled on hurrying up to find Syrus.

It was a surprise to both of them when they found Syrus tied up and surrounded by Alexis and two other Obelisk girls.

"Think it's too late to grab him?" Jaden 'whispered' to Konami.

"Unless you _want _to shove over three girls who know what our faces look like." Was his response.

"Ah, Jaden, Konami." Alexis spoke upon seeing them, a tad surprised, but still held a stern tone. She was about to continue, when one of the girls pointed at Konami.

"You!" She said angrily. "You're that Slifer from before."

"You know him, Jasmine?" The other girl, one with short black hair, asked.

"Unfortunately yeah, I do, Mindy." The girl now known as Jasmine answered. "He's the guy that ran into me earlier!"

"_You_ bumped into _me_." Konami retorted with a roll of his eyes. "You ran into my side, fell, I helped you up, and you left."

"You didn't _help_ me up, you pulled me up like a sack of potatoes!" Any further banter was interrupted by Jaden.

"Wow!" Jaden said with a laugh. "Fell for ya _and _swept her off her feet! Way to go-"

"If you're done." Alexis cut in, looking rather annoyed. "I think we have something that belongs to you." She pointed her thumb towards Syrus, who was most likely keeping quiet so as to not make things worse for himself.

"What happened, Sy?" Jaden asked the tied up, boy.

"Well...it, um...it happened like this-" Syrus began before Jasmine cut him off.

"He peeked on us in the bath!" She exclaimed, looking angry at just the memory.

"What did you say?" Jaden responded, shocked.

"I didn't do it on purpose!" Syrus proclaimed.

"Syrus!" The red-capped Slifer sighed in exasperation. "When I said you'd find a girlfriend, I didn't expect you to search so proactively!" Despite being tied up, Syrus began struggling, looking as though he wanted to kill Konami. He struggled even more so as he saw the amused smirk on his face.

"Either way, he'll be expelled once the Academy finds out." Mindy mentioned, a mild look of amusement on her face.

"How about a duel?" Alexis proposed. "You win, and assuming this doesn't happen again, we'll forget all about this."

"Who'll be dueling?" Konami asked. However, before Alexis could respond, Jasmine stepped forward.

"We have two separate duels." The girl said. "If Jaden beats Alexis _and _you beat me, you can go, no questions asked. But, if you lose, whoever loses get expelled right alongside the pervert. Sounds fair?"

"Fine by me."

"I'm game!"

"Not a bad idea."

"It wasn't on purpose, I swear!"

A few moments later, the four duelists found themselves in boats in the middle of the lake as the duels were about to start.

"Why boats?" The red-capped Slifer questioned his opponent.

"Does it matter?" Was all she responded.

'Dueling in boats.' Konami felt the urge to roll his eyes. 'What's next, motorcycles?' He shook his head. Right now he needed to focus on this duel. He'd rather not be expelled within his first week, so losing was not an option.

**DUEL!**

**Jasmine Makurada – 4000**

**Konami Takahashi – 4000**

"Ladies first!" Jasmine called out. "Draw!"

**TURN ONE – JASMINE MAKURADA **

"Alright!" She began. "First, I'll start by summoning Harpie's Brother in Attack Mode!" Harpie's brother was tanned man with dark hair that spiked wildly, a red mask, red wings, and a long red claw on his right arm.

Harpie's Brother – Wind/Winged-Beast – LV4 – 1800/600

"I'll place two cards face down before ending my turn." The girl then smirked at the red-capped Slifer. "Try to keep up, Slifer Red."

"I'll do more than just keep up." Konami shot back. "Now it's my turn! Draw!"

**TURN TWO – KONAMI TAKAHASHI**

Giving his cards a brief glance, Konami began. "First, I summon Thunder Nyan Nyan in Attack Mode!" Thunder Nyan Nyan was a red-haired young woman with horns and pointed ears dressed in a leopardskin singlet. She had a teal skirt around her hips, and wielded a drum set of sorts.

Thunder Nyan Nyan – Light/Thunder – LV4 – 1900/800

"Now go and destroy her monster with-"

"Not so fast!" Jasmine interrupted. "I activate the Trap card, Windstorm of Etaqua!" A gust of wind shot forth, and Thunder Nyan Nyan knelt down, holding her drums as a form of shield.

"Windstorm of Etaqua." Konami murmured. "Changes the battle positions of all the opponent's monsters."

"Glad to see you've done your homework." Jasmine smirked. "So, you won't be attacking this turn."

"No." Konami agreed. "But I can place two cards of my own face down before ending my turn."

"Is that all?" The girl sneered. "Fine, then. My draw!"

**TURN THREE – JASMINE MAKURADA**

The brunette Obelisk let out a smirk. "Well, what do you know, Slifer Red, I might share your three-turn record." This caused the red-capped Slifer to raise a brow. "First up, I summon Cyber Harpie Lady in Attack Mode!" Cyber Harpie Lady was a woman with long red hair, green wings on her arms, and purple formfitting armor on her body.

Cyber Harpie Lady – Wind/Winged-Beast – LV4 – 1800/1300

"Next, I'll use Elegant Egotist, to Special Summon from my deck, Harpie Lady sisters!" Harpie Lady Sisters were a trio of women. All of them had golden formfitting armor and green wings, the only difference being their hair colors of blue, orange, and red.

Harpie Lady Sisters – Wind/Winged-Beast – LV6 – 1950/2100

"Impressive combo." Konami commented sincerely.

"It's more than impressive, Slifer Red, it's your end, for I activate Cyber Shield, bringing my Cyber Harpie Lady's Attack up to 2300!" The girl exclaimed. "Now go, my monsters! Destroy him!"

As Harpie's Brother zoomed in on Thunder Nyan Nyan to make way for the other monsters, his attack suddenly bounced off.

"I activate my Trap, Waboku!" Konami called out. "I'm safe this turn."

"Fine." Jasmine huffed out. "I'll place one more card face down before ending my turn. But I'll get you in the next."

"We'll see." Konami spoke, reaching onto his deck. "Draw!"

**TURN FOUR – KONAMI TAKAHASHI**

"Let's start with this!" Konami proclaimed. "I'll sacrifice Thunder Nyan Nyan!" The female monster was engulfed in a large blast of electricity. "Ruler of Lighting and Thunder, grace us with your shocking performance! Tribute Summon! Zaborg, the Thunder Monarch!" Zaborg was an extremely large man with silver armor and an aura of electricity around him.

Zaborg the Thunder Monarch – Light/Thunder – LV5 – 2400/1000

"What?" Jasmine gasped.

"That's not all." Konami smirked. "When he's Tribute Summoned, I must destroy one monster on the field. And I choose your Cyber Harpie Lady. Destroy her with your Static Shockwave!" Zaborg waved a hand towards the Cyber Harpie Lady. Seconds after, she was electrocuted by a bolt of lighting from the sky.

"Damn." Jasmine muttered.

"Don't forget, I can still attack! Go, Zaborg! Fry her Harpie's Brother with Thunder Clap!" Konami commanded. The hulking monster raised up both arms, before bringing them together for a single clap. The shock wave sped right to Harpie's Brother, destroying it.

**Jasmine Makurada – 3400**

**Konami Takahashi – 4000**

"I'll place two more cards face down before ending my turn." Konami finished.

"Alright." Jasmine spoke with a glare. "So you've made a slight comeback. Still too early to count me out, Slifer Red! Draw!

**TURN FIVE – JASMINE MAKURADA**

The girl scowled. "I'll place one monster face down, before switching Harpie Lady Sisters to Defense Mode, and then I end my turn."

"Alright, then." Konami piped up. "My go! Draw!"

**TURN SIX – KONAMI TAKAHASHI**

"I'll throw one monster face down-"

"No you don't!" Jasmine interrupted. "I activate my Trap card, Shadow of Eyes!" She exclaimed. "If put a monster in face down Defense Mode, this switches it to face up Attack Mode!" True to her word, Batteryman AA was flipped up to Attack position.

Batteryman AA was an orange robot-looking monster with a very thin battery for it's torso.

Batteryman AA – Light/Thunder – LV3 – 0/0

"Fine." Konami spat. "Either way, Zaborg, destroy her face down!" Once more, Zaborg's Thunder Clap destroyed Jasmine's monster. "And with that, I'll end my turn."

"Fine by me." Jasmine said. "But first, the face down you just destroyed was the monster Birdface." She said with a grin. "Whose destruction allows me to add one Harpie Lady to my hand." She did just that. "Anyway, now I draw!"

**TURN SEVEN – JASMINE MAKURADA**

Jasmine smirked at her new card. "I'm seriously getting tired of this." She stated. "First, I activate the trap, Hysteric Party! By discarding one card," Which she did. "I can Special Summon as many Harpie Ladies from my Graveyard as possible. Including the one I discarded, that makes two." Two more Harpie Ladies joined the Harpie Lady Sisters on the field.

"Next, I'll switch Harpie Lady Sisters to Attack Mode, before activating the Spell that'll begin your defeat, Triangle Ecstasy Spark!" The girl grinned. "This card-"

"Won't be activated, due to my Trap, Spell Shield Type-8! If I send one Spell of my own to the Graveyard, I can stop you from using one of yours!" Konami exclaimed, halting Jasmine's strategy.

The Obelisk Blue girl was stunned, if not a bit outraged. So far, this _Slifer _had countered all of her strategies. She hadn't even touched him yet, and he just outright stopped her key play.

"Fine!" She shouted, her rage coming out. "Harpie Lady Sisters, destroy his stupid Batteryman!" To the girl's absolute glee, the attack actually connected, _finally _dealing damage to the Slifer.

**Jasmine Makurada – 3400**

**Konami Takahashi – 3050**

"There!" She called out to the Slifer, before realizing something. "Wait, why aren't your Life Points lower? I just destroyed a zero Attack monster!"

"Check again." Konami retorted. "Batteryman AA increases it's Attack for each of it's kind on my side of the field. One Batteryman AA, One Thousand points."

"Damn." She cursed again. "Fine, I'll take it. Your move, Slifer Red!"

"Let's go, then." He responded. "Draw!"

**TURN EIGHT – KONAMI TAKAHASHI**

"I think I'll activate my Trap now: Raigeki Break!" He announced. "I discard a card!" Which he promptly did. "And I can destroy any one card on the field. Let's choose Hysteric Party."

Jasmine's eyes widened as a bolt of electricity from the sky struck her card, which also succeeded in destroying her two Cyber Harpies.

"No way." She muttered.

"Zaborg, you know what to do!" Konami shouted. "Destroy her Harpie Sisters!" Once again, Zaborg's Thunder Clap struck true, destroying yet another monster.

**Jasmine Makurada – 2950**

**Konami Takahashi – 3050**

"And with that, it's your turn." Konami informed.

"Alright." Jasmine mumbled. "Draw."

**TURN NINE – JASMINE MAKURADA**

Jasmine simply looked at the card in her hand, as well as what was on the field. All she had was this one card she drew, and it wasn't even a good one. Konami had a hulking behemoth of a Thunder monster and one more Spell/Trap. Plus, there's whatever he'd draw next.

With a sigh and a mild scowl, Jasmine simply placed her hand on her deck, symbolizing forfeit.

**Forfeit!**

**Winner – Konami Takahashi**

**DUEL END**

"You give up?" Konami questioned. "That doesn't seem like something you would do."

"You were simply lucky." The girl stated. "I was out of moves, and you were actually not that bad." She admitted.

"Kinda sucks, though." The Slifer teen muttered. "If it make you feel any better, you really _could _have beaten me on that third turn." He let out a smirk. "Guess I just have a bit too much skill."

"You got lucky." Jasmine insisted. "Miracle draw after miracle draw, I should accuse you of cheating!" She ranted. "Besides," She nodded her head towards Jaden's duel. "They've already finished. And, I hate to say this, but I _might _ have lost within a couple more turns, anyway. So, you're free to go."

As the two of them rowed back to shore, the others were there, waiting for them.

"Way to go, Konami!" Syrus shouted, probably ecstatic at being free again.

"Thanks." The red-capped Slifer said with a shrug.

"Well, we won, so we're taking Syrus back." Jaden said with a surprisingly serious face.

"Yeah, yeah, you won, we lost, now scram." Jasmine yelled, apparently still bitter about her loss.

"Jasmine..." Alexis warned.

"Alright, alright, we're going." Konami said with a small chuckle. "We'll see you all later." Konami said in a friendly tone, before leaving with a wave.

"See ya, guys!" Jaden said, before he and Syrus began following him.

"Well, they were pretty interesting." Alexis spoke to no one in particular after the three had left.

"It's getting late. We better head back, too." Mindy spoke up.

"Konami owes me another duel. I won't be satisfied with this result." Jasmine muttered in a serious tone.

"So, it's 'Konami' now?" Mindy teased. "What happened to 'Slifer Red'?"

"Shut up, Mindy." The girl seethed, blushing slightly.

* * *

The three Slifers returned to their dorm. Jaden decided he wanted to celebrate how the day ended, so he invited Konami over to their room for the rest of the night. Jaden, Syrus, and Konami were sitting in a circle chatting about more or less random topics, whilst Chumley staying in his bed, though contributing to the conversations from time to time.

"Hey, I just realized something." Syrus piped up, interrupting Jaden's _riveting _tale about a contest he entered as a kid.

"What's that Sy?" Jaden asked, curious. Konami leaned forward slightly, curious as well.

"You!" Syrus exclaimed, aiming both a glare and an accusatory finger at the red-capped Slifer.

"Me." Konami repeated, uncertain of what his anger came from.

"You read the note, too! You could've told me it was fake!" He yelled.

"Technically, Sy," Konami began. "It was meant for Jaden. If you didn't see that or that her name was misspelled, I doubt anything I could've said would have made much difference." He shrugged.

"I was so excited, though!" He retorted. "I didn't notice!"

"If Alexis actually _did _send the letter, the fact that she would've had to have broken a few rules even getting in the room." Konami responded. "Plus, it was asking you to essentially break a dozen more rules. I personally wouldn't have listened to it."

"Kid's got a point, Sy." Chumley chimed in.

"Plus we got a freaking PDA." Konami continued his mini-rant. "Letters are kinda dated."

Syrus, hearing the logic, and realizing the mistakes he made in the last few hours, curled up in the corner.

"Don't worry, Sy!" Jaden, intending to be the voice of comfort spoke up. "You'll get someone or something someday!"

"Gee, thanks, Jay." Was his sarcastic response.

'Tell me, what are his odds?' Konami questioned his duel spirits with a sweat drop.

_"He...might...have some chance." _Was Dark Elf's reluctant response.

_"Everyone has a chance." _Key spoke, a bit more optimistic.

_"Definitely not anytime soon." _Mace said with a roll of his eyes.

_"We could make it our mission to find him somebody?" _White Dolphin suggested.

Konami shook his head, and decided to take action. "Sorry, Sy. We'll cut you some slack." The boy in the corner looked up at him. "Jaden grouped us together to hang out, so let's have some fun." With this, Jaden himself stood up.

"Alright, let's duel!" Jaden exclaimed to his fellow Slifer. Konami simply sweat dropped again.

"I was thinking more along the lines of watching some Kaibaman episodes. And maybe some of episodes of that SPHR show I heard so much about."

"Sapphire?" Syrus questioned. Konami shrugged.

"I don't know too much about it." The red-capped Slifer admitted. "It does have high review from what I hear, though."

"Well, I'm game." Jaden replied cheerfully. Konami was just about to hook up his PDA to Jaden's television, when Chumley spoke up.

"Hey, did you guys finish Crolwer's extra homework?" The other three Slifers all paused.

A chorus of 'OH CRAP!' was heard throughout the Slifer Red dorm.

* * *

In the next chapter:

"Wait, wait, wait." The red-capped Slifer spoke, halting the conversation. "What's this about a tag duel?"

* * *

Omake #2 – Questions to Answer:

Konami Takahashi was a man of many virtues. He believed in what was right and wrong, but also believed in fairness, second chances, and equality. It's not too much of an exaggeration to say that he'd be considered an outstanding young man to the eyes of many, some even going so far as calling him the perfect young man.

At the same time, though, he's still just that – a young man.

So, the next question the teen asked may or may not have been surprising.

"So, Syrus." Konami started, gaining the smaller boy's attention. "You've been swearing left and right you didn't purposefully peek, right?" After receiving an affirmative nod, he continued. "Well...what _did _you see?"

This caused the blue-haired boy's face to go as red as his jacket. "I didn't see a thing!" He vehemently denied, trying to hide his face. Unfortunately for him, this caused the taller teen to give him a rather predatory smirk.

"Ah, so you _did _see something." He said, humor in his voice. _This _accusation turned the boy into a stuttering mess.

"I...um...well...yes!" He admitted, his face blushing profusely, looking ashamed. "I couldn't see who..." He started. "But...um...they were pretty...big."

Konami made a sound of acknowledgment. "As long as this doesn't happen again, you'll be fine, buddy." Konami patted the smaller boy's back, attempting to be comforting.

"That's it?" He questioned, raising a brow. "Persistent asking and that's it?" He seemed a bit annoyed at the taller Slifer.

At this, Konami just shrugged. "Simply curious. But, to be honest, I was mostly just messing with ya." He even ruffled the smaller boys hair as if to prove it. And with that, the red-capped Slifer left, heading back to his room. But not before sending a message on his PDA.

"Sorry, Jazz. Sounds like he saw you." He sent. Just a moment later, he had a response.

"THAT DAMN PERVERTED SLIFER–MUNCHKIN!" This was followed up by another message. "Make him hurt!"

"I'll see what I can do. He's pretty easy to torment, so I'll think of something."

* * *

Reviews:

**Thunder Crush**: _I'm glad you think it's that good on the first chapter, but honestly, this was kinda inspired by a few similar stories. Unfortunately, his duel **was **the main focus of **this **chapter. Still, I'm glad you enjoyed._

**Guest**: _Thank you for the complement. Your statements are correct, however, due to the circumstances, it'll be hard to input it into this story aside from teasers. Maybe in a sequel it'll have more of a spotlight._

* * *

_Chapter two, done. Not gonna lie, writing duels are honestly a big weakness of mine, simply because I'm basing it off of the Tag Force games. I can't actually use one of my Tag Force duels, simply because complete snuff outs are boring to read unless it's for shock values, like on a new villain or something. So, I look at the deck recipes, and kinda, just, make the duels up.  
_

_If Konami seemed overpowered, **I'm trying **to work on that, but it's not easy. At least he got actual battle damage this time, though, and he spent his duel basically countering his opponent's moves, otherwise, **he'd **be the one being completely snuffed out. And to be fair, I ended the duel like I did because, unless Konami drew **no **more monsters, it'd pretty much be a slaughter. And if he didn't, it'd pretty much be a stalemate until **she **ran out of monsters, which **then **would most likely become a slaughter.  
_

_Anyway, hope you enjoyed, next chapter should be up soon._


	3. Chapter 3

**The Student in Red**

**Volume 1 – The Scarlet Newbie Saga**

**Chapter 3 – Double Dueling**

Saturday. A day that just seems brighter. A day that everyone seems to relax and have the most fun. A day where classes ended early, as though the faculty felt the same anticipation as the students did. A day...

To be pushed around by the dozens of people who happen to be in the same card shop that afternoon.

Konami was not happy. His plan for the afternoon was pretty much to sleep until dinner. Even if he was caught up in whatever 'fun' activity Jaden thought up, he wouldn't mind much, as it would most likely involve dueling, and he could stay awake for a good duel.

So, his frustration was perfectly justified (in his opinion) as he stood amongst the bustling crowd, and more than once he was nearly toppled over _someone _while it felt like people where doing the tango on his feet.

"Jaden." He grunted out to the teen as he made his way over to him. "What are we doing here again?"

Jaden was strangely focused in what he was doing – fishing out card packs while standing amongst the sea of students. Chumley and Syrus were most likely doing the same, wherever they were. Well, Chumley was more likely than Syrus. Konami wouldn't be surprised if someone literally stepped on the small Slifer like he was a bug in this crowd.

"I need to supe up my deck, Konami!" Jaden called back to him. And that was all the explanation he received.

With a sigh, Konami debated for a moment whether or not he should also take the plunge – a few new cards never hurt, and some of his strategies seriously needed fine-tuning. He soon shook his head, though. If he wanted cards, he could wait until the crowd was smaller.

"_You're not gonna even try?" _The voice of Mace piped in. At first, Konami considered making some sarcastic retort. He was definitely frustrated enough to do so. However, he noticed a set that looked practically untouched. No one was around it, barely anyone even looked at it.

He'd simply ignore it as well. It was a beginner's booster pack, with a picture of the monster Cosmo Queen, and held the title 'From the Abyss'. He was surprised to find this one so...deserted. Cosmo Queen was a very powerful monster, and, if his hunch was correct, this was a Dark Attribute booster pack. Dark monsters tended to have good skills, in his opinion, even if they could be risky.

Then again, from the looks of things, there probably weren't too many 'rare' monsters in these packs, and that's what others wanted – rare cards. Cosmo Queen was surprisingly common for such a powerful monster. Still, there could be potential.

Konami sighed. Well, like he said, new cards never hurt. Checking the amount of Duel Points he had, he decided to grab five packs – enough to satisfy his curiosity, potentially get new cards, and if he has them already, an extra twenty-five cards wouldn't hurt.

Surprisingly, the cashier line was rather small. Then again, everyone was probably too busy brawling it out. With a polite 'thank you', he bought his cards and moved to one of the room's corners, the emptier parts of the store, and checked at what he had gotten.

Most of them were either cards he already had, like Mask of Darkness, or cards he really had no use for, like Des Kangaroo. Like he thought, he did get a Cosmo Queen – two, in fact. He let out a smile when he found another Dark Elf amongst the cards. But, nothing else really stood –

Wait.

Konami picked up a card, and was actually pleased with what he got – an Ebon Magician Curran. Her and her sister, Pikeru, were both somewhat rare cards to obtain. Plus, the effects were decent, even if the stats were a bit low.

Just as Konami was about to put the cards away, he thought, for just a second, he heard a voice.

"_Who...are...you?"_

'Who's there?' Konami could tell it was a duel spirit. However, when the voice didn't respond, he simply shrugged, and went off to see how his friends were doing.

* * *

'Well, it could've been worse.' Konami thought with a sweat drop back at the dorm. Turns out, the whole shopping trip was a disaster. Jaden barely got any new cards, Chumley _did _get some, but he was a Beast-type user, not an Aqua-type user, and Syrus had to visit the nurse after being trampled. Luckily he somehow only got several bruises. Although there was bandages on his forehead, and he needed new glasses.

"This blows, guys." Jaden said with a huff. Konami saw Jaden's Winged Kuriboh floating around him, as if trying to comfort his master.

"Totally not lischus." Chumley agreed. "We skipped breakfast for this?"

"My day went great!" Syrus spoke up with a cheery tone.

"You got ran over by two dozen students." Konami pointed out. "That might be the brain damage talking."

"Nope." Syrus waved his hand dismissively, before continuing as though Konami never spoke. "I saw Sadie _and _Professor Fontaine today!" His eyes gleamed. "With those two in my day, how could I _not _be happy?!"

"_By remembering that you're an easily deceived munchkin with poor grades and dueling, that lives in Jaden's shadow?" _Dark Elf questioned.

'Harsh.' Konami reprimanded.

"_She does have a point." _White Dolphin interjected.

"Alright, then!" Jaden exclaimed, hopping up to his feet. "Are we ready for tomorrow?!" Syrus and Chumley responded in affirmative (the latter sounding more unenthusiastic), while Konami just raised a brow. Ignoring Konami's confusion, the teen continued. "Alright, then! Let's rock the arena, guys!"

"Do we have to?" Was Chumley's response. "I'm not exactly a great duelist."

"You don't have to be." Syrus said. "We got both Jaden _and _Konami with us."

"True." The larger Slifer said, perking up. "Still, I haven't been in too many tag duels."

"None of us have, Chumley!" Jaden countered. "That's why it's so-"

"Wait, wait, wait." The red-capped Slifer spoke, halting the conversation. "What's this about a tag duel?"

"What are you talking about, Konami?" Syrus questioned, raising a brow. All three Slifers looked as though he asked a rather stupid question.

"Yeah, bud." Jaden added. "Didn't you get the message the other day? We're tag dueling this Sunday?" Curious, Konami checked his PDA. True enough, there was an unread message from Dr. Crowler, titled 'This Sunday'.

"Oh." Konami said simply. Giving a shrug, he decided to go along with it. "How are we partnering up?" He questioned.

"We could just all hang out, decide who duels when the time comes." Syrus suggested.

"I dunno." Chumley said. "That might work if it was just you, me, and Jaden. Now that Konami's here, a group of four might scare others away."

"Unless you either don't care, or are that confident in your skills, anyway." Konami pointed out.

"As much as I want to be Konami's partner," Jaden piped up, "I know the two of us would win any duel we come across." He paused for a moment, before speaking again. "How about me and Syrus, and Konami and Chumley?"

"Sounds good to me, Jay." Syrus spoke with a smile.

"I don't see why not." Chumley responded.

"How ironic." Was Konami's answer. "Pairing up the new guy with the senior member." Konami chuckled before smirking at the larger Slifer. "I'll try not to let you down, _Senpai._"

Embarrassed at the title, Chumley simply blushed with a chuckle, the others letting out a laugh, too.

Not long after, the two teams split off in order to figure out their strategies, Jaden and Syrus staying in their room, while Chumley followed Konami into his. The separation probably didn't make much difference, but Konami would rather work on his synergy with Chumley without having Jaden and Syrus shout out _something _every five minutes.

'Dark Elf's cynicism's getting to me again.' Konami thought with a sweat drop.

"_I am not a cynic!" _Was her immediate response, which he ignored.

"You know," Chumley unknowingly interrupted, sighing. "I've been feeling kinda off, lately. Sometimes I think I can even see Des Koala." Konami simply raised a brow. Shaking his head, the larger Slifer grabbed his deck, before handing it to Konami. "I want your opinion, see if there's any mistakes to fix, or something."

With a nod, Konami did just that, shuffling through Chumley's deck, seeing just what kind of strategy he used. The red-capped Slifer was actually pretty impressed. The deck was pretty solid. Sure, there were a few weaknesses, but it was surprisingly well built for a held-back Slifer.

"Not bad." Konami said after a few moments. "You seem to focus on defense, with Bubonic Vermin and Des Koala, but that's still a pretty good strategy." He frowned. "Only issue is the lack of offense. Big Koala and Maji-Gire Panda aren't the most usable cards."

Chumley seemed to deflate slightly. "Any tips?" The larger Slifer questioned. "I was planning on bettering my deck anyway, so might as well do it now."

Konami thought for a moment, before grabbing his suitcase, and searching through the cards inside.

"It's not much." Konami admitted. "But I can give you these." He held out two cards in his hand – the Des Kangaroo he purchased earlier, and a Polymerization. "If I remember right, these should work with your Big Koala."

"Thanks." The older Slifer said with a smile, taking the cards. His smile then turned into a look of confusion. "By the way, how do you know all this stuff?" He questioned.

"Taught by my dad." He said with a shrug. "He's the kinda guy that puts skill above anything else involving duels – so he made sure that I know how cards work."

"Sounds like he knows what quite a bit himself." Chumley spoke. "So, what are you planning on using for tomorrow?"

"Either Plant, Insect, or Beast-Warrior." Was Konami's response. "I don't have a completed Beast-Type deck just yet." He admitted. "I haven't tag dueled much, but I _do _know that it's important to use cards that both partners can use."

"Makes sense." Chumley nodded. "If you used, say, a Pyro or a Fish deck, the styles would be way too different from what I use."

"Exactly." Konami grinned. "Looks like you're pretty smart when there's something besides grilled cheese on the brain." Chumley didn't say anything for a few moments.

"_Looks like you upset the big guy." _Mace spoke up.

'What? But – but...' Konami sweated a bit nervously.

"_You probably did." _White Dolphin added.

'But, I've teased worse to Jaden and Syrus!' Konami mentally yelled to his spirits.

"_You should probably say sor-" _Key began, but was interrupted by Chumley.

"Speaking of grilled cheese, how long 'til dinner?" The larger Slifer asked. Konami sweat dropped.

"Huh?" He questioned. "Dinner?"

"Yeah." Chumley responded. "I'm getting pretty hungry, do you got any snacks?"

"Not unless you want to eat my mint toothpaste." Konami joked, before paling at Chumley's deep and thoughtful expression.

"_Sometimes I seriously question the friends you keep, Konami." _Dark Elf muttered.

* * *

Sunday. Also, a bright day, second only to Saturday. Sunday had various meanings to various people. To some, it was a religious day. To others, it was a 'break' in the week, as businesses and other establishments tended to be closed more on Sundays than any other day. The Academy was technically closed as well on Sundays.

Technically.

While it was true that the education part of the Academy was closed, the duel fields were wide open. Apparently people were thrilled over the idea of 'Tag Duel Sunday', and there were duels happening all over the place.

There were mixed opinions in the group of four Slifers.

Konami held back a sigh, still annoyed with crowds.

Syrus and Chumley had expressions of nervousness, paranoid that despite their strong partners, they'd lose easily.

And Jaden...

"Wow, this is so sweet!" Exclaimed the Slifer, an excited grin on his face. "I can't wait to duel!"

"Before you can," a familiar voice interrupted. Just in front of them stood Dr. Crowler, most likely there to keep an eye on the students. "As this is your first time, I need to explain to you exactly what this is."

"What's there to explain, Teach?" Jaden questioned. "It's just a tag duel." The odd doctor looked as though he might explode on the Slifer.

"Just let him talk, Jay." Konami said, putting his hand on the fellow teen's shoulder. "This will only take a minute." With a huff, Jaden nodded. Dr. Crowler cleared his throat before speaking.

"You see, the Academy has something special planned for later in the year." The doctor began. "However, it will be solely a tag duel event. Now, we have the utmost confidence in our students, however there might be a slight chance that tag dueling will be an issue. So that's why we're here." He waved an arm around the arena. "If all goes well this Sunday, than every Sunday from now on shall hold tag duels here for practice. But," He glared slightly. "Single, or any other types of dueling shall be forbidden while in this room." His face then put on a smile. "That's it! So start tag dueling 'til you can't tag duel any more!"

His speech done, the doctor stepped aside so the four Slifers could move through.

"Okay." Konami spoke out, grabbing the attention of the other three. "Let's find ourselves a few duels. Syrus, just a heads up, I think you're still a wanted man, so you might want to stay clear from the female students." The small Slifer muttered in annoyance. "Since it's still a bit early in the morning, I say we stay here until lunch at the latest before heading home."

The three agreed (Jaden reluctantly) before the two team split off. From what the scoreboards said, Team Jaden was doing pretty well. Team Konami, however, was not as lucky.

Not that they were doing poorly, no. But, they've been there for an hour, and everyone else seemed to be either to busy, or flat out refused to duel the two.

"_This is getting us nowhere." _Dark Elf groaned.

'It's only been an hour.' Konami pointed out. 'We got plenty of time.'

"I'm sorry, Konami." Chumley spoke, unknowingly interrupting the conversation. "It's my fault everyone's ignoring us."

"What do you mean?" Konami questioned, raising a brow.

"Well –" Chumley's explanation was cut short by a couple of fellow Slifers. There were two of them, one looking suspiciously like the Ra Konami met, Pipin, while the other one had short brown hair with a few spikes at the ends.

"What do you think you're doing, Konami?!" The Pipin lookalike exclaimed. "You're a good duelist, bud. You shouldn't be hanging out with someone like _him._" Chumley deflated quite a bit at the accusation.

"What are you talking about?" Konami responded, genuinely curious. Before the the Pipin lookalike could respond, the other one spoke.

"Terence, d-don't antagonize them..." The meeker of the two chastised.

"Shut up, Giry, I know what I'm doing." The first one, Terence, shot back before returning his gaze to Konami and Chumley. "What I'm talking about is that you, the one rumored to be second only to Jaden, is hanging out with _him_," He pointed to Chumley. "One of the reasons everyone calls us Slifer Slackers!"

"Chumley's got some good cards." Konami countered. "Besides, we're both friends of Jaden, why not just talk to him about this?"

"There's a difference." Terence insisted. "Jaden wouldn't listen if we did, but you're new, you can still get out."

There was a pause between the Slifers. Terence glared at both Konami and the larger Slifer, Konami had a thoughtful look on his face, Chumley looked downright depressed, and Giry looked like he was ready to bolt at any second.

"Maybe he's right." Chumley mumbled. "I'm not as good as you or Jaden. Heck, I even got held back a year, something that doesn't happen a lot."

Instead of responding to either of them, Konami merely spoke out loud. "It's sickening." He said with a shake of his head, prompting looks of surprise from the other three. "We're all Slifer Red. I expected discrimination from the higher ranks, but within our own?" He let out a sigh before glaring fiercely at the opposing Slifers. "That's just low."

"Alright, then." Terence said with a sneer. "Let's duel then, hotshot. You win, we leave you alone. Lose, and you'll be in our group."

"Deal." Konami's response was instantaneous.

"But, Konami –" Chumley attempted to protest.

"No buts, we're going to duel, and we're going to win." The red-capped Slifer cut in, before looking at Chumley. "Right?"

"...Right." He nodded after a moment.

"If you two are done with the pep-talk, we got a duel to start!" Terance called out. "Giry! Let's roll!" He barked to his friend.

"R-right! L-let's do this!" Was the nervous teen's response.

**DUEL!**

**Terence Matsuda &amp; Giry Takaki – Team Ferocious Beauty – 4000**

**Chumley Huffington &amp; Konami Takahashi – Team Nature's Wrath – 4000**

"I think I'll go first!" Terrence called out, reaching for his deck. "My draw!"

**TURN ONE – FEROCIOUS BEAUTY – TERENCE MATSUDA**

Terence let out a smirk. "Alright, first off, I activate the Continuous Spell – Heart of the Underdog!" He exclaimed, slamming the card onto the field. "Next, I summon Mad Dog of Darkness in attack mode!" Mad Dog of Darkness was a large canine creature with an almost rabid expression.

Mad Dog of Darkness – Dark/Beast – LV4 – 1900/1400

"That's one strong monster." Chumley commented.

"Now, I'll place one card face down before ending my turn." Terence finished, glaring at Chumley.

"R-right!" Chumley said, nervously. "It's my move! Draw!"

**TURN TWO – NATURE'S WRATH – CHUMLEY HUFFINGTON**

"I think I'll activate my Trap now!" Terence interrupted. "Arsenal Robber! This card forces you to send one Equip Spell from your Deck to your Graveyard." Chumley frowned before doing just that – Premature Burial if Konami saw correctly.

The larger boy looked at the hand, as well as the card he just drew. "I.." He started. "I summon Nimble Momonga in Defense Mode!" As he played the card, a small flying squirrel appeared onto the field.

Nimble Momonga – Earth/Beast – LV2 – 1000/100

"Ha!" Terence exclaimed. "What's the point of having such a weak monster?" Chumley didn't respond to the question.

"I put two cards face down, before ending my turn." The larger Slifer finished, a bit calmer than a moment ago.

"Al-alright..." Giry muttered. "I – I guess it's my turn...Draw!"

**TURN THREE – FEROCIOUS BEAUTY – GIRY TAKAKI**

"I activate Heart of the Underdog's Effect!" He called out. "If – if I draw a normal monster, I can draw again. And that's what I just drew!" Grabbing another card from his deck, he glanced at his hand before continuing. "First I – I summon Beautiful Headhuntres!" The monster he summoned was, as the name implied, a beautiful woman. She had tied up blue hair, traditional blue Japanese garb, and a giant meat cleaver in her hands.

Beautiful Headhuntress – Eath/Warrior – LV4 – 1600/800

Konami let out an impressed whistle, before decidedly ignoring the glare Dark Elf sent him.

"B-but that's not all!" Giry continued. "I activate Polymerization! From my hand, I – I fuse together yet another Beautiful Headhuntress and Sonic Maid to F-Fusion Summon Warrior of Tradition!" Another female monster appeared next to the Headhuntress on the field. This one looked just like Beautiful Headhuntress, only her clothes were red, instead of blue, and her hair was green.

Warrior of Tradition – Earth/Warrior – LV6 – 1900/1700

"That's a pretty strong move." Chumley muttered worriedly.

"Ye-yeah!" Giry called out, excitedly. "Now go, Headhuntress! Destroy their monster!" With a nod, the woman dash forward and did just that – cleaving the flying squirrel in half. As the creature burst in an explosion of pixels, a white light enveloped Chumley and Konami.

"What just happened?!" Terence demanded of them.

"Nimble Momonga's Special Ability." Chumley explained. "If it's destroyed by battle, I not only gain one thousand Life Points..."

**Team Ferocious Beauty – 4000**

**Team Nature's Wrath – 5000**

"I can also Special Summon two more from my Deck in face down Defense Mode." Chumley finished explaining as two more cards appeared on the field.

"W-Warrior of Tradition! Mad Dog of Darkness!" Giry called out. "Destroy his remaining monsters!"

"You idiot!" Terence yelled at his partner as the monsters charged. "They could've used them for a monster! You just gave them a total of three thousand Life Points!"

**Team Ferocious Beauty – 4000**

**Team Nature's Wrath – 7000**

"B-but they don't have any more monsters-" Giry tried to explain.

"No, but I do have a Trap!" Chumley interrupted. "Michizure! You destroyed a monster on my side of the field, so I can destroy one of yours." Konami let out a smirk for his partner – he was doing pretty well. "I'll destroy your Warrior of Tradition!" A large chasm opened up beneath the female warrior's feet. Peering down into it, she didn't expect one of the Nimble Momongas to leap out just to drag her down with it.

"F-fine..." Giry mumbled. "I end my turn."

"Then it's my go." Konami commented. "I draw!"

**TURN FOUR – NATURE'S WRATH – KONAMI TAKAHASHI**

'Let's see...' Konami glanced at his cards. 'I could easily turn this around – their teamwork is lacking enough to make a few mistakes. But I'm doing this more for Chumley than myself. He needs to finish it.'

With a nod to himself, Konami made his move. "I'll throw one monster face down, before I activate the Field Spell – Forest!" As he played the card, a dense forest encircled the four. "Insects, Plants, Beasts, and Beast-Warriors gain an extra 200 Attack and Defense! I'll put one more card face down before ending my turn."

"That's it?" Terence questioned. "Lame. By the way, thanks for the boost. Now it's my draw!"

**TURN FIVE – FEROCIOUS BEAUTY – TERENCE MATSUDA**

"And thanks to Heart of the Underdog, I get one more draw." He smirked, adding a second card to his hand again. "First up, I Summon Nin-Ken Dog in Attack Mode!" Nin-Ken Dog was a monster dressed as a red ninja with brown fur and a canine's head.

Nin-Ken Dog – Wind/Beast-Warrior – LV4 – 1800/1000 (Forest-enhanced: 2000/1200)

"But that's not all!" Terence continued. "I activate my own Polymerization! And from my hand, I'll fuse together Mystic Horseman and Battle Ox!"

"No way!" Chumley exclaimed. "Is he...that's a very rare card! Only one man's been known to have it!"

"Until now!" Terence shot back. "I Fuse Summon the legendary Rabid Horseman in Attack Mode!" Rabid Horseman had the lower body of a horse, and the upper body of a minotaur. On his upper body, he wore a breastplate, a helmet on his head, and an axe in the monster's right hand.

Rabid Horseman – Earth/Beast-Warrior – LV6 – 2000/1700 (Forest-enhanced: 2200/1900)

"That's...impressive." Konami admitted, surprised. Rabid Horseman was a rare card. Not as rare as, say, a Dark Magician, or the Blue Eyes White Dragon, but this was a card used by Seto Kaiba himself. Not many people just _have _one.

"Glad you think so!" Terence cockily replied. "Now, go, Headhuntress! Destroy his face down!" Headhuntress slashed the monster, only for a giant ladybug with four stars on it's back to show it's face.

"You just activated my monster's effect!" Konami called out. "4-Starred Ladybug of Doom! When flipped face up, this card destroys all of your level four monsters!" Konami's ladybug was destroyed, but as it vanished, a pink mist encircled Beautiful Headhuntress, Mad Dog of Darkness, and Nin-Ken Dog, destroying all three.

"So what?!" Terence said with a scowl. "You're defenseless, and I can still attack! Go, Rabid Horseman!" The forest-enhanced level six monster charged forward, and slashed straight through Konami.

**Team Ferocious Beauty – 4000**

**Team Nature's Wrath – 4800**

"Konami!" Chumley called out, Konami himself letting out a groan of pain.

"Well, now that I've done some damage, I think I'll end my turn." Terence smirked.

"Th-then it's my turn!" Chumley worriedly. "I draw!"

**TURN SIX – NATURE'S WRATH – CHUMLEY HUFFINGTON**

Chumley studied his hand carefully. "I place one monster and one more card face down before ending my turn!"

"You're both so _lame_!" Terence taunted. "Just go, Giry."

"R-right! Draw!" The other opponent responded.

**TURN SEVEN – FEROCIOUS BEAUTY – GIRY TAKAKI**

The timid teen made an annoyed face, and due to his _not _drawing of a second card, it was something else.

"I place one monster face down." He announced. "B-before attacking yours with Rabid Horseman!" The Fusion monster dashed forward, resulting in the face down flipping upwards, revealing a brown koala with a eucalyptus leaf in it's mouth.

Des Koala – Dark/Beast – LV3 – 1100/1800 (Forest-enhanced: 1300/2000)

"Wait!" Chumley exclaimed. "I activate The Reliable Guardian! This card increases Des Koala's Defense!" The move did as he said, bringing it's defense up to 2700 – higher than Rabid Horseman's Attack.

**Team Ferocious Beauty – 3500**

**Team Nature's Wrath – 4800**

"Next, I activate Des Koala's ability! When it's flipped up, you take damage! 400 for each card in your hand!" Giry had two cards in his hand, dealing another 800 points of damage.

**Team Ferocious Beauty – 2700**

**Team Nature's Wrath – 4800**

Giry flinched while Terence was visibly seething.

"I – I end my turn." Giry muttered.

"If you say so." Konami answered. "My draw!"

**TURN EIGHT – NATURE'S WRATH – KONAMI TAKAHASHI**

"I summon Neo Bug in Attack mode!" Konami announced. Neo Bug was a large silver-green insect with red eyes, large fangs, and many legs on it's body.

Neo Bug – Earth/Insect – LV4 – 1800/1700 (Forest-enhanced: 2000/1900)

"Next, I activate the Equip Spell – Insect Armor with Laser Cannon!" Playing the Spell, a blue set of upper body armor with red shoulder pads and a large cannon on the helmet materialized around Neo bug. "This card increases a monster's Attack by 700, bringing Neo Bug up to 2700!"

"Oh no." Terence said, shocked.

"Neo Bug, destroy his Rabid Horseman!" At Konami's order, a large beam shot out of the cannon, and with a roar, Rabid Horseman was destroyed.

**Team Ferocious Beauty – 2200**

**Team Nature's Wrath – 4800**

"N-no way." Giry spoke, stunned. Terence, however, simply glared, oddly calm for someone whose ace monster was destroyed.

"Way to go, Konami!" Chumley exclaimed. Konami himself merely smirked.

"Alright, you two." Terence said, letting out a smirk of his own. "No more playing around. My draw!"

**TURN NINE – FEROCIOUS BEAUTY – TERENCE MATSUDA**

"First I'll draw again thank to my Spell, and then I summon Skull Dog Marron in Attack Mode!" Terence exclaimed. Skull Dog Marron was a dog skeleton with a yellow collar around it's neck.

Skull Dog Marron – Earth/Beast – LV4 – 1350/2000 (Forest-enhanced: 1550/2200)

"But I'm not done! First, I Flip Summon Giry's Invader of the Throne!" Invader of the Throne was a slender woman with long purple hair and a red dress that sat upon a large blue throne.

Invader of the Throne – Earth/Warrior – LV4 – 1350/1700

"Damn." Konami swore softly, a scowl on his face.

"Wh-what?" Chumley grew nervous as Konami's shift in attitude.

"I'll explain!" Terence shouted. "Invader of the Throne let's me swap her for any one of your monsters. Now go! Switch places with Neo Bug!" In a flash of light, the two monsters changed positions – Invader of the Throne in front of Konami, and Neo Bug standing before Giry.

"N-no way." Chumley's eyes widened.

"There's more!" Terence called out. "I use two spells – Stop Defense and Snatch Steal! Stop Defense allows me to switch one monster to Attack Mode. Des Koala, stand tall for us!" Both Konami and Chumley watched as the defensive monster stood up, looking ready to fight. "And don't forget Snatch Steal! With this, I can take Invader of the Throne back!"

"And give us one thousand Life Points during each of our turns!" Konami shot back.

"So what! It won't matter two turns from now." Was Terence's response.

"_This guy's getting on my nerves." _Dark Elf muttered to Konami.

'I might have screwed up. I should've taken a bit more precautions.' He mentally responded.

"_Think you can still win?" _The duel spirit questioned.

'If he's got the right hand – yes.' He answered.

"Now, Invader!" Terence called out, interrupting Konami's conversation. "Destroy Des Koala!" The female monster did as requested, but in an almost humorous way – she lifted up her throne and squished the koala with it.

**Team Ferocious Beauty – 2200**

**Team Nature's Wrath – 4750**

"Now then!" Terence continued. "Marron! Neo Bug! Attack!" The two monsters launched their attacks – which consisted of Marron biting Chumley's arm, while Neo Bug blasted Konami.

**Team Ferocious Beauty – 2200**

**Team Nature's Wrath – 500**

"T-totally not lischus..." Chumley groaned.

"I have to agree..." Konami muttered.

"I think I'll end my turn here." Terence sneered. "Enjoy your last turn, guys." Chumley had his hand hovering over the deck. He looked ready to draw, but his hand was shaking.

"I – I – can we even win?" Konami heard Chumley mumble.

"Chumley." Konami said sharply to his larger friend, getting his attention. "Make your move. Even if the odds are low, it's still literally impossible to win if you don't even draw. Make your move, and we'll just have to roll with whatever we got."

Nodding, looking much more confident, Chumley grabbed a card from his deck. "Draw!"

**TURN TEN – NATURE'S WRATH – CHUMLEY HUFFINGTON**

Team Nature's Wrath was hit with the familiar glow of gaining Life Points, courtesy of Snatch Steal.

**Team Ferocious Beauty – 2200**

**Team Nature's Wrath – 1500**

Chumley's eyes widened. "Huh?" He almost looked confused, before a look of realization hit – and then a look of utter joy. "I can win." He breathed out, causing Konami to smirk.

"What are you talking about?!" Terence called out. "There's no way you could've drawn a card to counter this!"

"But I did!" Chumley shot back, much more confident. "From my hand, I use the Spell Polymerization! I fuse together Big Koala and Des Kangaroo!" For the third time this duel, Konami watched as two monsters joined together to make another. "Australia's the home to all Koalas and this one's the biggest of them all! Master of Oz!"

Terence and Giry watched in awe as a large green Koala creature appeared onto the field. It wore large red shoes, red boxing gloves, and a purple vest. On it's right shoulder was a championship belt, on it's left eye was a scar, and on it's upper lip was a tiny mustache.

Master of Oz – Earth/Beast – LV9 – 4200/3700 (Forest-enhanced: 4400/3900)

"One more thing!" Chumley called out. "I play the Equip Spell – United We Stand! This Spell increases one monster's Attack and Defense for each other monster on my side of the field. Even if he's standing alone, that brings him up to 5200 Attack!"

"Th-th-th-th-that's a-a-a-a l-l-lot of p-p-points." Giry began to stutter in fear.

"One move...one..." And Terence was simply shocked at the sudden turn of events.

"Now go!" Chumley cried out. "End this with Outback Attack!" With a nod, the large Koala began whirling it's left arm like a windmill, before launching a punch, going straight through Invader of the Throne – destroying her in the process – and going right to the opponents.

**Team Ferocious Beauty – 0**

**Team Nature's Wrath – 500**

"No way!" Terence exclaimed as the holographic forest began to fade away. "We lost."

"Because you don't have the teamwork Chumley and I do." Konami told him. "That was a pretty tough duel, though." Konami continued. "You almost had us."

"_Because you held back."_

'Not now.' Konami looked and saw Chumley visibly shaking.

"You okay, buddy?" Konami hesitantly asked.

"That..." He heard him mutter quietly. "That...was sO LISCHUS!" He exclaimed before yanking Konami into a bear hug. "That was so much fun and so exciting and I was so nervous and-" Konami began to tune him out, waiting for him to calm down so they could find Jaden and Syrus. He felt done with tag duels for the moment.

"_I still question the friends you keep." _He heard Dark Elf sigh.

* * *

After that duel, the day was relatively peaceful. Jaden and Syrus – Team Mechanical Hero – had won three duels of their own. Konami and the rest of the Slifer Four had simply hung out for the rest of the day, Konami retreating into his room after dinner.

And now he lied on his bed, one hand behind his head, while the other was holding that card he found earlier – Ebon Magician Curran.

"_What could be so interesting about that card?" _Dark Elf questioned the red-capped Slifer.

"It...she...spoke to me." Konami responded, an inquisitive look on his face.

"_What?" _Was the spirit's response, oddly surprised.

"_Think we'll get a new friend?" _Key questioned.

"I only heard her voice once." Konami clarified. "It was quiet, I almost missed it amongst the chaos from yesterday. But I heard a voice coming from this card."

"_Well, some spirits are trapped in some cards." _White Dolphin spoke out.

"_That is true." _Dark Elf agreed. _"Most spirits simply come to this world on their own volition. I came here after being shown what a worthy duelist you are." _Konami let out a smile at her words.

"_But a few, like me," _White Dolphin continued. _"Are spirits that are actually trapped within the cards." _

"How did you get trapped?" Konami questioned, raising a brow.

"_I don't know." _He responded. _"I was simply forced into a card you just happened to pick up."_

"I see." Konami mulled over this information for a few moments. "It's late." He eventually said. "Good night, guys." The spirits vanished, giving off their own farewell for the night.

Just as Konami was about to pass out for the night, he heard the voice once more.

"_Good...night."_

'Well,' Konami thought to himself. 'She's probably not a _bad _spirit.'

* * *

In the next chapter:

Konami frowned when he saw his exam opponent. Something about this guy just...doesn't add up. Something about this guy gave him a bad feeling. That's when he saw it. His dread wasn't coming from his opponent, but the card spirit he saw floating beside him.

* * *

Omake #3 – Tag Teams:

Konami stood in the empty Slifer cafeteria in front of a mobile chalkboard – something he likely placed there himself. He wrote in white chalk, oblivious to the people the slowly trickled into the room.

'No, no, no.' Konami mentally chided himself. 'That's no good, it doesn't fit properly. What if we-' Konami's mental ramblings were interrupted by Jaden.

"Uh, Konami?" The Slifer asked, his hand raised. "Why are we here?" Konami smirked to himself, having an answer to his question.

"It's one of life's mysteries, my friend." Konami spoke, not bothering to turn around. "Did we just appear one day? Or is there really a-" Konami was interrupted again, this time by Jasmine.

"No, you idiot!" She exclaimed, obviously annoyed. "He means 'why did you call all of us to the Slifer cafeteria?'!" Konami frowned, so much for his fun.

"I've gathered you all here for a reason." He stated, turning to face them. "As you all know, tag duels are becoming a thing, right?" He got a series of nods in response. "Well, then we need _this_!" He moved away, showing the board, with, in big bold letters, read **Team Names**.

"Team Names?" Alexis questioned.

"Yes!" Konami exclaimed. "We're going to team up, so we need names! We have Nature's Wrath and Mechanical Hero! But what about the rest?!" He jumped back in front of the list he wrote down.

"Oh, some may be easy," Konami continued. "But what about others? For example!" He pointed to a name. "Pipin, Terence! You're Team Lookalike! Mindy, Giry! You're Team Fatal Attraction! But what about Jaden and Alexis...? Team Showboating! That's it!" Konami turned back to the board, beginning to write furiously on it.

"_Hmm." _Winged Kuriboh hummed questioningly.

"_He's like this whenever face with an 'exciting' challenge." _Dark Elf answered.

"_Hmm!" _The furball hummed in shock.

_"What did you say this looks like?"_

_"Hmm."_

"_What the hell is shipping?" _Dark Elf raised a brow. The look that appeared in the Winged Kuriboh's eyes made her audibly gulp.

* * *

Reviews:

**Infernal Hunter: **_Thanks for the advice. I'll try to work on the duels more._

**Thunder Crush: **_Thank you, I'm glad you like my story so far. I think I did better this time around when it came to 'dominating' duels, but, then again, Konami held back on purpose, so I don't know if that counts._

**jack: **_Uh, thanks. Glad you liked it._

* * *

_Okay, chapter three done. The reason this is original content, as opposed to, say, another episode of the anime is simple – I wanted to have more content in the story. This could be considered filler, but, in the end, it did have quite a few important details, so it has a purpose. Next one should be following the anime – unless I get some major idea before I start typing._

_Not much to say this time around, other than I hope you enjoyed, and see you next chapter._


	4. Chapter 4

**The Student in Red**

**Volume 1 – The Scarlet Newbie Saga**

**Chapter 4 – Testing the Waters**

"_Alright, here's an easy one. Last turn, you set Gift of the Mystical Elf , Trap Jammer, and Ring of Destruction on the field. Your opponent has the card Barrel Behind the Door set on his side of the field. Your Life Points are 500, whilst your opponent's are 1500. There are three monsters on your side of the field, and two on your opponent's – the strongest one on the field being your opponent's Gemini Elf. Your move?"_

"Simple. Start the Battle Phase, and then activate Gift of the Mystical Elf. That brings my Life Points to 2000. Use Ring of Destruction on his Gemini Elf, and since it's the Battle Phase, use Trap Jammer to stop his Barrel."

Today was the day of the Academy's Monthly Exams. While most people would be freaking out, he was rather nonchalant about it, bordering uncaring. Still, Dark Elf insisted that he studied, so the two have been going over duel puzzles.

He was curious about why he hadn't seen hide nor hair of his other spirits so far that day, but decided not to ask, they have their own lives after all.

"_Correct." _The duel spirit spoke with a smile. _"While I have no doubt you'll do well, it pleases me that you're taking the time to study for once."_

Konami simply shrugged in response. "You insisted." He then sighed before taking another look at his surroundings. As per Dark Elf's 'request', he was in the classroom, in his seat, about an hour before class even started. "Why are we here again?" He allowed himself to speak rather than think due to him being literally the only one in the room.

"_You need to study, and the blue imp's chanting would not help in that matter." _Dark Elf deadpanned, referring to how Syrus seemed to be praying to Slifer.

Before he could respond, he hear a voice call out to him from behind.

"Well isn't this a surprise?" A British male voice spoke. Turning, Konami saw...some Ra student. He looked familiar, but at the same time, not at all. "I wasn't expecting to see someone else here this early."

"What can I say?" Konami said to the approaching Ra. "It's Exam day, and I take my studies seriously." He could hear Dark Elf scoff at his statement.

"You and I both." The Ra said to Konami before extending his hand for a shake. "The name's Bastion Misawa. Pleasure to meet you."

"Konami Takahashi, likewise." Konami responded, accepting the handshake.

"Ah, the new student." Bastion said, nodding to himself. "I've seen your duel against Pipin, Very well played."

"Thanks." Konami said with a shrug. "So, know anything about the test?" Konami questioned.

"Only what we've been told before." Bastion said with a shrug of his own. "There are two parts of the test – written and practical. The written test should go over everything we've learned this month, although the test changes depending on year and dorm."

"And the practical exam?" The red-capped Slifer asked, genuinely curious. "A duel, right?"

"Correct." The Ra nodded. "Not much to this one – duel an opponent from the same dorm. Win, and you pass, with a chance of promoting to the next dorm."

"Not like you have a shot at moving up anyway!" A rather arrogant sounding voice exclaimed. Approaching the two was an Obelisk Blue male student with wildly spiked black hair and a smirk on his face. "You're dead wrong if you think they'll let a nerd and a reject get promoted."

"Nerd?" Bastion questioned, slightly baffled.

"Reject?" Konami followed suit, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"That's right!" The Obelisk answered, smugly. "Not everyday someone gets denied from their dorm."

"How many times do I need to go over this?" Konami shook his head. "They ran out of uniforms. I _couldn't _be a Ra without demoting someone else."

"And if you did, I'd be leaving you alone and having this discussion with _that guy, _Ra Reject!" He quickly retorted.

"Are you here for a reason?" Bastion spoke up, giving the Obelisk a small glare. This caused the blue-garbed student to pause for an instant.

"Actually, yes I am." He answered, before stepping up to Konami, looking him dead in the eye. "Listen here, _Reject_." The Obelisk spat out the word. "Between you and that Slacker, Jaden, you've caused quite the commotion. I honestly don't care what losers you lucked into beating. You both are Slifers – the lowest of the low. Right now, I'm _reminding _you of that. Don't think that a few lucky wins mean anything, so learn your place."

"And just where would 'my place' be?" Konami shot back, irritated at the student in front of him.

Konami's question caused the teen to smirk. "Why, beneath my boots, of course." He let out a chuckle. "I'm done here." Without waiting for a response, he turned around, walking to his seat in the room. He stopped after the first few steps, though. "By the way, Reject?" He turned his head back to Konami. "The name's Chazz Princeton. Don't forget it." And with that, he left the Slifer and Ra to their own devices.

It was silent between Konami and Bastion for a few moments. Bastion kept glaring in Chazz's direction, annoyed at the unwanted interruption.

Konami, however, was beginning to feel his blood boil. He could handle a few insults – it happens – but Chazz, for no good reason, just verbally spat in his face. Reject? Beneath his boots? That was an insult to his pride.

"So that's Chazz Princeton, huh?" Konami grunted out.

"I suppose you've heard of him?" Bastion responded. "Then I suppose you'd know he's supposed to be one of the best in this Academy."

"_Who almost got beaten by a Slifer Red." _Dark Elf deadpanned.

"Is he that good?" The red-capped Slifer questioned, ignoring his spirit.

"Indeed, although I am certain he is not nearly on the same level as Zane Truesdale, so he is far from unbeatable." The Ra answered, a small smirk playing at his lips.

'Zane Truesdale.' Konami repeated the name mentally. "No, I suppose not." Konami spoke out, before noticing the increasing number of students in the room. "I guess study time's almost over." Konami frowned.

"Quite." Bastion responded, nodding his head. "I'll see you later, I suppose." The Ra said, sending a small wave as he went to his seat. "Good luck on your exam."

Nodding to the Ra, Konami sat back down, waiting for the class – and the following test – to begin. Doing his best to keep his mind focused entirely on his recent studying, he just barely noticed as Syrus took his seat nearby.

Konami did notice, however, that Jaden didn't arrive with him.

* * *

Turned out, Jaden slept in. At least, that was the answer that Konami thought up that made the most sense. Then again, knowing his energetic friend, it's also quite possible that he simply forgot it was a school day, or took the wrong turn and ended up going to one of the other dorms before getting on the right track.

'Hell, maybe he helped an old lady cross the street or something.' Konami thought, barely suppressing a snort.

Syrus ended up falling asleep rather quickly, mumbling about how spells work.

Granted half of what he said was wrong, but still.

Jaden arrived about halfway through the exam, and after a humorous (in Konami's opinion) exchange with Chazz, the tardy Slifer grabbed a test of his own to work on.

Only for him _and _Syrus to fall back asleep soon after, much to the annoyance of pretty much every other student in the classroom.

Konami could've sworn he heard a familiar voice laughing maniacally while the two boys slept.

'Crowler?'

"_Crowler."_

It wasn't long before Professor Banner – the one overseeing the exam – called the written exam to a close, dismissing the students. Of course, with the news of rare cards being shipped in, nearly every student in the room ran out, eager to get some.

The only ones left in the room were Konami, the sleeping Slifer duo, and, surprisingly, Bastion. The Ra and Slifer shared a look, before attempting to wake up the duo.

Konami, uncertain as to how to wake up the two, simply settled for poking Jaden in the arm.

"Jaden?" He attempted. "Jay-den?" All he got in response was even louder snoring from the teen. Bastion, getting a tad annoyed at the sleeping Slifers, let out a sigh, before roughly shaking Syrus's arm.

"Say." He called out. "You might want to give some serious thought to _waking up._" It seemed to work for Syrus, who shot up like a bullet, before realizing what had just happened.

"Aw, I flunked, didn't I?" The smaller Slifer asked, a bit depressed. "I'm a complete failure..." This in turn seemed to have woken Jaden up.

"Sy, if they were grading on melodrama, you'd get an 'A'!" The teen joked, raising his head up. Konami himself let out a chuckle at the line.

"Hey, where'd everyone go?" Syrus questioned, looking around the room.

"The card shop." Konami answered, unintentionally cutting off Bastion. "There's new rare cards coming in today."

"What?!" Syrus exclaimed. "New cards?! How come no one told us?!"

"You were asleep." Konami deadpanned.

"That, and everyone wants the best cards for themselves, to use in the upcoming field exam." Bastion added, sending a small glare to the red-capped Slifer.

"Why aren't you two getting any?" The small Slifer accused.

"Please." Bastion scoffed. "One errant card and my deck's delicate balance would be completely thrown off." The Ra explained.

"I'm satisfied what I have for now." Konami shrugged. "While I could fine tune a few strategies, I won't be using those today, so I'm not in a big hurry just yet. Plus, I pre-ordered a pack so I should be fine." The other three looked at him, surprised at the new information.

"You can pre-order?" Jaden asked, awe evident on his face.

"Not exactly." The red-capped Slifer admitted. "But I have my ways."

"If you want those cards, I'd suggest hurrying up." Bastion chimed in. "You're already pretty late as is."

"So let's go!" Jaden exclaimed. "There's nothing like the smell of new cards in the morning!" He started up and began leaving. "C'mon Sy!"

Shaking his head, Konami decided to follow them. "See ya, Bastion." He waved before darting after the other Slifers.

He caught up with them, but Jaden's card excitement forced the three to run all the way to the card shop.

"C'mon guys, hurry up!" Jaden called towards the other two as they approached the shop. "We gotta...get...in line?" The cause of Jaden's hesitation was the fact that, aside from Sadie at the counter, the entire shop was empty.

"I...guess they ran out?" Konami questioned. Of course. Syrus groaned loudly at this, while Jaden ran up to the counter.

"Excuse me, Counter Girl – ?" Jaden began.

"Sadie." Konami corrected.

"Whatever, Sadie?"

"Yes, what can I do for – ?" She paused at seeing Konami, before breaking out into a big smile. "Oh, hey, it's so nice to see you again! These must be your little friends, hmm?"

"You know her?" Syrus asked.

"Long story." He whispered, before speaking up. "Um, yeah, they're my friends." He responded to the young woman. "Jaden and Sy." He gestured to them as he said their names. "Sorry, but, uh, they were wondering, did you have any cards left?"

The other two Slifers watched, confused as the third one spoke. He acted, well, different than before. His voice was raised a couple octaves, making him sound a bit younger. His posture changed a bit as well, for he gave a small fidget every so often.

"Well of course we do." Sadie responded in a perky tone. "But only the regular ones, though." She then slid two card packs onto the table.

"Only two?" Syrus questioned. "Aw, I'm done for!"

"Actually, one of these is for Konami here." She said, picking one up and handing it to said Slifer. "Here you go, sweetie."

"Oh! Th-thank you very much!" He said, giving small bow.

"So, we only get one?!" Syrus despaired.

"Okay, then, you take it." Jaden shrugged handing to pack to the smaller Slifer.

"Really?" Syrus asked, looking utterly moved. "You'd let me have the last pack?"

"It's cool."

"But what about you? What if...you fail?"

"Hey, c'mon, I may flunk every now and then, but I _never_ fail."

"You're friends are kinda weird." Sadie whispered to Konami.

"_Thank you!" _He heard Dark Elf exclaim.

"They have their moments." He agreed. All conversation ceased as a 'yoo-hoo!' was heard. Approaching the counter was another woman, this one quite a bit older than Sadie, but dressed in the same uniform.

"Oh, hey!" Jaden exclaimed, apparently knowing her. "You work here, too?"

"Oh no." She said grinning. "I don't work here, I _own _here. Pretty cool, huh?" She asked, winking.

"Pretty cool." Konami agreed.

"No it's not." Jaden retorted, waving his arm at the red-capped Slifer. "It's not cool, it's totally sweet!"

"So, how do you know her?" Syrus questioned.

"The carburetor, I think." Jaden said, looking a tad sheepish.

'He actually was helping out an old lady.' Konami thought to himself, sweat-dropping.

"Here I have something for you." The card shop owner said, giggling, as she handed Jaden a card pack. "Just call it a thank you for helping me."

* * *

"_Will someone **please **turn off the damn confetti already?!" _Dark Elf exclaimed, sounding extremely annoyed.

To be fair, she _did _have a reason to. After all, only Jaden would have the luck of missing the first half of the written test, sleeping through the second, only to _impressively _beat an _Obelisk _because he made a friend in the card shop owner. In addition, the entire school seemed to be cheering the Slifer on, and the Chancellor even promoted him to Ra Yellow!

It did seem like the confetti was a bit much, though. Sure, a Slifer _did _just beat Obelisk – and a powerful one at that – but there _were _other duels that needed to play out, and with six at most at a time, one would think they'd constantly have the fields full.

Finally, after celebrating Jaden's win, they began calling names to the field.

"**Bivin Ito and Nova Yamada, please report to Duel Field One." **A teacher's voice announced. **"Aite Nakamura and Hiro Sato, please report to Duel Field Two. Shannon Suzuki and Syrus Truesdale, please report to Duel Field Three. Konami Takahashi –" **The red-capped Slifer perked up after hearing his name. **"and Gillian Kurotsuchi, please report to Duel Field Four."**

Konami ignored the rest of the announcement, not caring who would take up the last two fields. No, after Jaden's duel, he was itching for one of his own.

Heading down to the field, he noticed that Gillian was already there. A look that was both calm and confident rested on his face. Gillian was a fellow Slifer student with short blond hair that spiked in the back.

Konami frowned when he saw his exam opponent. Something about this guy just...doesn't add up. Something about this guy gave him a bad feeling. That's when he saw it. His dread wasn't coming from his opponent, but the card spirit he saw floating beside him.

It was a green reptilian looking creature. The monster had fins on it's face, and it's hands and feet were webbed. Aside from it's tail, the only other noticeable feature is the maniac grin with razor-sharp teeth. If Konami remembered correctly, this monster was Amphibian Beast.

Konami _swore _he saw the monster look at him with an interested expression.

"_Sorry I'm late!" _Konami almost jumped when he heard the voice of White Dolphin, before said monster appeared beside him. _"I'd hate to miss this." _His tone was both apologetic and humored.

'Where were you guys?' Konami questioned his spirit, only turning his eyes slightly to acknowledge him.

"_Dark Elf didn't want us disturbing your studying." _The dolphin responded, sweating slightly.

"Well what do you know?" The opposing Slifer unknowingly interrupted, a good-natured tone in his voice. "Konami Takahashi, the kid in the red hat." He started. "You're quickly getting famous, you know."

"I just duel." The red-capped Slifer shrugged. "It's not like I'm the only one with any skill around here."

"Either way, I'm a bit excited to duel you. That being said," Gillian then readied his Duel Disk. "there's no way I'm planning on failing!"

"Same here." Konami let out a smirk, his own Disk readying.

**DUEL!**

**Gillian Kurotsuchi – 4000**

**Konami Takahashi – 4000**

'Do you see it, too?' Konami asked his spirit, narrowing his eyes at his opponent.

"_The green monster? Kinda hard not to." _The dolphin responded, his tone unusually serious. _"Be careful."_

'Right.' He nodded before speaking to the Slifer standing across from him. "If you don't mind, I think I'll go first! Draw!"

**TURN ONE – KONAMI TAKAHASHI – HAND: SIX**

"I think I'll start off by summoning Space Mambo in Attack Mode!" Space Mambo was simply a large blue fish covered in odd, magic-looking lines.

Space Mambo – Water/Fish – LV4 – 1700/1000

Konami glanced at his hand before continuing. "Next I'll place a card face down before ending my turn." He noticed that the opposing Slifer had a smirk on his face.

"Alright, then, I guess it's my turn." Gillian spoke before reaching to his deck. "I draw!"

**TURN TWO – GILLIAN KUROTSUCHI – HAND: SIX**

"First off, I'll summon Giant Red Seasnake in Attack Mode!" The self-describing monster slithered onto the field, hissing at Konami and his monster.

Giant Red Seasnake – Water/Aqua – LV4 – 1800/800

"Next, I'll use my Field Spell – Umi – to give my monsters a boost!" As he tossed the Spell into the Field Spell Slot, water began pooling around the two, until both of them were waist-deep in it.

"You must be confident if you're willing to boost my monsters too." Konami called out to his opponent.

"Doesn't matter." Gillian waved off. "Right now, there's still a hundred-point difference in our monsters. And I'll prove it, Seasnake, attack his Space Mambo!" The snake slithered over to Konami's fish before biting down – hard – destroying it.

**Gillian Kurotsuchi – 4000**

**Konami Takahashi – 3900**

"Next," The opposing Slifer continued. "I think I'll set a card face down before ending my turn."

"Alright, then, my go! Draw!"

**TURN THREE – KONAMI TAKAHASHI – HAND: FIVE**

"Alright! I summon 7 Colored Fish in Attack Mode!" A large fish surfaced onto the field. The monster had sharp teeth and it's body was multicolored, giving it a rainbow-like look.

7 Colored Fish – Water/Fish – LV4 – 1800/800 (Umi – 2000/1000)

"Next, I equip it with the United We Stand! Further increasing it's power to 2800!" A blue aura enveloped the fish. "Now! Destroy his snake!"

"Not today!" Gillian exclaimed. "I activate my Trap – Waboku! Your attack wont work."

Konami let out a scowl at the other Slifer. "Fine, then." He called over to his opponent. "I guess I end my turn."

"If you're sure." The blond Slifer smirked. "Draw!"

**TURN FOUR – GILLIAN KUROTSUCHI – HAND: FOUR**

"First," The opposing Slifer began. "I'll summon Star Boy in Attack Mode!" Star Boy was a red starfish-looking monster with a single eye. "This little guy gives all Water monsters on the field an additional 500 point boost!"

Star Boy – Water/Aqua – LV2 – 550/500 (Buffs – 1250/700)

"Next, I'll use two Equip Spells, Steel Shell and Power of Kaishin, and Equip them to my Seasnake and Star Boy respectively." The blond continued. "That gives my Seasnake enough power to destroy your Fish!" Giant Red Seasnake, now sporting a spiked blue shell on it's back, lunged to 7 Colored Fish.

"It would." Konami replied. "If I didn't activate my Trap! Metal Reflect Slime!" A metallic spiked orb materialized onto the field.

Metal Reflect Slime – Water/Aqua/Trap – LV10 – 0/3000 (Buffs – 700/3200)

"Now, with two monsters on my field, my Fish's 800 point boost doubles, increasing it's power to 3600, and your monster's no match." The Seasnake stopped within an inch of the other monster, slowly slinking back to it's side of the field.

Grunting, Gillian glanced at the last card in his hand. "I place one last card face down before ending my turn."

"Fine by me. Draw!"

**TURN FIVE – KONAMI TAKAHASHI – HAND: FOUR**

"First off, I'll summon White Dolphin in Attack Mode!" Konami's duel spirit swam onto the field excitedly, doing a few flips to show off.

White Dolphin – Water/Fish – LV2 – 500/400 (Buffs – 1200/600)

"Next, I'll activate Horn of the Unicorn! Increasing it's stats by another 700!" The duel spirit seemed to flip with joy at the sudden power it received. "But I'm not done yet. From my hand, I use the Ritual Spell card, Fortress Whale's Oath!"

"Fortress Whale?" Gillian repeated, stunned. "Wait, Ritual Summoning? You'd sacrifice two powerful monsters for that?"

"No." Konami responded. "White Dolphin and 7 Colored Fish don't make up the levels needed to summon it." He then smirked. "But Metal Reflect Slime does!" The metallic creature dove into the waters, only for something much larger to slowly rise out. "Rise, culmination of land and sea! Come forth and seek vengeance on those who have wronged you! Ritual Summon! Fortress Whale!"

Fortress Whale was very intimating in appearance. In addition to it's beady eyes, sharp teeth, large horn, and visible ribs, cannons were mounted on it's back. All in all it was a rather monstrous and unnatural look.

Fortress Whale – Water/Fish – LV7 – 2350/2150 (Buffs – 3050/2350)

Konami was about to call an attack, his victory in sight, but then he had a good look at his opponent. Gillian looked calm, almost overly so for someone in his position. His look wasn't resigned either, but one of thinly veiled desperation.

'It's that face down.' Konami thought to himself. "Alright, then!" Konami called out, testing his theory. "White Dolphin, destroy his Star Boy!"

"There goes my Trap!" Gillian exclaimed. "Negate Attack!" White Dolphin's attack immediately ceased, much to the spirit's annoyance. "You can't attack, and you have no monsters in your hand! So, it's my turn! Draw!"

**TURN SIX – GILLIAN KUROTSUCHI – HAND: ONE**

The opposing Slifer instantly smirked. "I'll sacrifice Star Boy to summon my ace monster! Come on out, Amphibian Beast!" The spirit Konami saw before jumped out of the water, replacing the weaker monster.

Amphibian Beast – Water/Fish – LV6 – 2400/2000 (Umi – 2600/2200)

"Attack! Amphibian Beast, destroy his Whale! Seasnake, destroy his Dolphin!" The two monster lunged at their targets. Konami winced at the cry of pain White Dolphin let out.

**Gillian Kurotsuchi – 4000**

**Konami Takahashi – 2850**

"And with those two gone, your monster's now that much weaker." The blond smirked as the Fish weakened down to 2800. Konami knew what he meant, too. 2800 may be a threat, but with the monsters on his side, one good card could give Gillian the advantage.

"It may be weaker, but you forgot something, you know." Konami called out.

"And that is?"

"Horn of the Unicorn comes back! Draw!"

**TURN SEVEN – KONAMI TAKAHASHI – HAND: ONE**

"Whenever Horn of the Unicorn is sent from the field to the graveyard," Konami continued. "It comes back to the top of my deck."

"What?!"

"And now I'll re-use it on my 7 Colored Fish! Increasing his power from 2800 to 3500!" The multicolored fish seemed to grin as it's power increased. "Now! Destroy his Seasnake!" The fish eagerly swam up to the serpent before biting it hard, destroying the monster.

**Gillian Kurotsuchi – 2900**

**Konami Takahashi – 2850**

"I can't do anything else, so I'll end my turn." The red-capped Slifer spoke.

"Fine then." The blond shot back. "Draw!"

**TURN EIGHT – GILLIAN KUROTSUCHI – HAND: ONE**

The opposing Slifer scowled at his card. "I activate the Spell, Share the Pain!"

"Share the Pain?" Konami raised a brow.

"Each of us must sacrifice one monster on our side of the field. And since we each only have one..."

Konami grunted as both monsters vanished.

"Go ahead." Gillian prompted with a strained smirk. "Draw." Both knew what the card would be.

"Fine."

**TURN NINE – KONAMI TAKAHASHI – HAND: ONE**

Horn of the Unicorn. Unfortunately not useful for his situation.

"I end my turn." The red-capped Slifer called out.

"Well, if you insist." The blond smirked slightly wider. "I draw!"

**TURN TEN – GILLIAN KUROTSUCHI – HAND: ONE**

The blond's smirk fell right off his face. "I end my turn."

Konami eyes his deck hesitantly. He needed a good card – now. "I draw!"

**TURN ELEVEN – KONAMI TAKAHASHI – HAND: TWO**

The red-capped Slifer's eyes widened under his hat. This was it.

"Alright then." Konami spoke out. "It's time to end this." Before his opponent could question him, he slammed his newly drawn card on his disk. "I summon Piranha Army in Attack Mode!" As it's name implies, Piranha Army is a school of small-yet-viscous fish.

Piranha Army – Water/Fish – LV2 – 800/200 (Umi – 1000/400)

"That's it?" Gillian questioned, dumbfounded. "That's your winning move? Even with that Equip Spell, I'll still survive this turn!"

"Actually you won't." Konami replied. "Before I explain, I'll do like you said, and play Horn of the Unicorn once more, bringing them up to 1700 ATK!" Humorously, instead of just one monster getting the horn, every single fish in the Army got one. "Now, to explain. When Piranha Army attacks directly, the damage it deals doubles."

"Oh, no!" The blond Slifer exclaimed.

"Well, good, at least I won't have to teach you basic multiplication." Konami drawled. "Piranha Army! End this now!" The school of fish swam up before jumping out and diving at the opposing Slifer. As the fish bit him, his Life Points Slowly drained to 0.

**Gillian Kurotsuchi – 0**

**Konami Takahashi – 2850**

**DUEL END**

* * *

"_I swear, the Chancellor's playing favorites."_

"Hey, you heard him – I wasn't dueling against an Obelisk or Ra, I was dueling a fellow Slifer."

As Konami lied in his bed, the days events were rather heavily discussed between the Slifer and his spirits.

"_Even so. You pulled off some great techniques, put on quite the show, and we're just brushed away for the next competitor?" _Dark Elf was furious at the lack of recognition Konami was receiving. _"You beat a Ra, pushed an Obelisk to surrender, and just won an intense duel, and we don't even get the damn confetti Yuki got?! Let alone the Ra recommendation –"_

"That he turned down." The red-capped Slifer countered.

"_Face it, Dark Elf." _White Dolphin chimed in. _"You're not gonna get him to care." _There was an aggravated tone in his voice, most likely due to being destroyed so quickly after his summoning.

Before anyone could respond, a giggle was heard in the room.

"That's Curran again, I guess." Konami muttered, pulling out the card. "Did you guys figure anything out about her yet?" There was a trio of 'no's from Dark Elf, Key, and Mace, but White Dolphin stayed quite. "Do _you _know anything?"

"_I think..."_ He began softly. _"I think she's like me." _He answered, a bit more firm.

"You mean a Trapped Spirit?" The red-capped Slifer questioned.

"_Yeah. In fact, it's possible that the Amphibian Beast we faced earlier was one, too."_

"So, there's probably going to be quite a few, huh?" Konami guessed.

"_Maybe." _Konami was certain if dolphins could shrug he would have. _"It **is **rare, though, so you might find, at most, ten."_

"Unless something big happens." Konami said before sighing. "Find all ten Trapped Spirits to beat the game." The red-capped Slifer muttered to himself.

"_This is anything but a game." _Dark Elf chimed in, only for Curran to giggle again immediately after.

"Well, it does sound fun, and might break up the monotony of school." Konami mused. "Maybe I'll talk to Gillian later – see if I could trade for his Amphibian Beast."

While Konami was making plans for his new mission, Dark Elf couldn't help but frown. While Trapped Spirits were not unheard of, the monsters trapped were either legendary creatures – or even gods – or severe criminals of the Spirit Realm, doomed to stay connected to a card in the mortal realm for eternity.

So why did only one of the _three _Trapped Spirits she'd seen _on this island _fall under those categories? What happened to them? Or rather, what's happen_ing_?

* * *

In the next chapter:

"What?! Afraid you'll be beaten by some 15-year-old kid?!" Despite his boasting, Konami felt terrified. He _had _to play the big hero didn't he? Sending his only backup away to get help, while he dealt with the man by himself. Still, better than letting Alexis – or he _and_ Alexis – get kidnapped. All he had to do was stall while Jaden, Alexis, and the others find a teacher that happens to be out past midnight, and then explain that while going to check out the forbidden Abandoned Dorm, they came across a seven-foot tall giant that - 'Oh, God, I'm going to die, aren't I?'

* * *

Omake #4 – I Have My Ways:

"_I hate when you do this."_ Dark Elf scowled.

'But it works every time.' Konami countered, a light blush on his cheeks. Why was he blushing? He wasn't wearing his hat, leaving his unkempt brown hair free for all to see. Thankfully, since the only ones who've seen his actual face were Jaden and Alexis' respective groups, most people – whether they ignored or stared – thought he was a totally different person.

He let out a grin as he approached the card shack. 'Operation: Shotacon is on!'

'Step one: Play the part, and play the part well.'

As he approached the counter, his steps became increasingly timid, his eyes glancing down at the floor, only looking up on occasion. "Um, excuse me?" Even his voice took on a more innocent-yet-nervous tone.

"Yes, sweetie?" The woman at the counter responded. "What can I do for you?"

'Step two: Do not ask for anything too specific, let them do that.'

"I, uh, I heard about cards?" Konami questioned, sounding uncertain.

"Yes, we got cards here." She responded, sounding amused. "Or do you mean the new cards coming in tomorrow?"

"Yes, those!" He answered, excitement lacing his tone.

"Well, I'm sorry, sweetie, but you'll have to wait tomorrow, like everyone else." At this, Konami visibly deflated, looking down.

Step three: There's no such thing as over exaggeration.

Also, step four: Begging and compliments will get you almost everywhere.

"I'm sorry, Miss...?"

"Sadie, call me Sadie."

"Wow, that's a pretty name!" Konami almost smirked when he saw her blush at that. "I'm sorry, but isn't there' _anything _you could do?" Konami pleaded. "I just want one so I don't miss my chance!"

"Well..." She seemed hesitant. Perfect.

'Step five: Make promises. Doesn't matter if you keep them or not, just make them.'

"_Please_?" Konami emphasized. "I'll duel extra hard so I can pay you double later!" She contemplated for a second before sighing.

"Well, I suppose I can do something." Sadie muttered.

'Step six: Big finish. And if you have them really hooked, make sure you only take what you need – you'll look even better for being humble.'

"Really? That's wonderful!" Konami then let out a big smile. "Thanks, Onee-chan!"

The girl blushed again at the boy's words. "Actually, don't worry about paying. I can handle it myself."

"No, no!" Konami pouted. "I couldn't do that to you! I'll pay, promise!"

"Alright, then. Is that everything?"

"Yeah! Thanks again, Onee-chan!" Konami said before darting off.

"You're welcome, sweetie!" He heard behind him.

_'Stop doing that.' _He heard Dark Elf mutter to him. _'It makes me nauseous.'_

'I know. But, it's genuinely fun sometimes, and it does have it's benefits. Now, I wonder what I'll get...'

* * *

Reviews:

**Infernal Hunter: **_I'll do my best to throw in original chapters from time to time (more as the story progresses). I enjoy writing those. Unfortunately, Chumley's role won't be too different from canon, but I'll do what I can to make him more than just 'there'. As for Curran and the spirit, you're right in a sense. Too bad Curran's just a disembodied voice at the moment._

**Thunder Crush: **_Konami's popularity will get complicated from time to time. At least in his circle of friends – for the majority of the school, he'll be just another student for a good while. While him denying Ra was an idea, I figured it was a bit too overused, so I just made it not even an option (at least not this time.)_

**Argorok:**_ Thanks. And, I'm continuing, don't worry._

**jack: **_Thanks._

**Sir Godot: **_I'm glad you enjoy both the work and the character._

* * *

_Chapter four...damn. Three months? That's just depressing. I could've posted (or written) mid-January and have been able to use Christmas and New Years as an excuse, but no. I got lazy. I admit it, and I apologize._

_On the positive side, next chapter should come soon-ish. I've actually gotten pretty interested in it._

_A couple notices. One, about Omakes, they'll fall under one of two categories: either behind-the-scenes action, or what's essentially The Student in Red Abridged. This Omake could very well fall under both, since it did happen in TSiR canon. Behind-the-scenes isn't limited to just stuff not shown, either, you might get one of Konami's memories in an Omake, for example._

_Secondly, there's a poll on my page. It's asking about your thoughts on how the story should go. Now, I know I've harped about this a bit, but I am interested in whether or not _**_you _**_are. However, for the most part, it's already decided. Unless I get dozens and dozens of people saying no, and two yes, I'll write how I currently have it planned. I'm interested in your opinions, but the current plot can stay mostly the same even if I do have to change a few ideas._

_Well, that's it for me. Hope you enjoyed, and see you next chapter._


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